His image, which included elements from the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and the cartoonist's German . How German Refugee Thomas Nast Invented How Santa Claus Looks Back During the Civil War. The final piece of the puzzle was with the help of Coca-Cola. Why did Nast draw Santa? These immigrants, founders of Nieuw Amsterdam (the future New York), introduced Sinterklaas in their new homeland. His use of Santa Claus was melancholy, sad for the faltering Union war effort in which Nast so fervently believed, and sad for the separation of soldiers and families. fbq('track', 'ViewContent'); Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space (espaol). On a Christmas cover of Harpers Weekly, he depicted himself in front of the fireplace, holding a long mother-of-pearl (meerschaum) pipe that was very popular at the time in Germany and the Netherlands. Several American artists played a role in turning the image of a slim saint in bishop's robes into a chubby, jolly old man in tall boots. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). Nasts illustrations appeared as black-and-white wood engravings, so they make no reference to the color of Santas outfit. Why did Nast draw Santa? Saint Nicholas was borrowed from this Dutch tradition introduced in America by the earliest Dutch immigrants for political reasons: as a kind of antidote to Christmas, which was celebrated by the English enemy and by the British colonial monarchy. Thomas Nast is considered to bethe Father of the American Cartoon and the man who conceived and introduced our modern image of Santa Claus. Historians describe the debate over extending civil rights to former slaves that divided the country after the Civil War. Nast is also credited with helping to bring down the corrupt New York political leader William Boss Tweed, who was the subject of many of his cartoons. In the past Santa Claus was presented in various ways but Nast conceived and introduced our modern image of Santa Claus. Why was Amazon Prime Pantry discontinued. His contributions to other journals became infrequent and, having lost nearly all his savings in the failure of the brokerage house of Grant & Ward in 1884, he became destitute. Thomas Nast: Learn About the Man Behind Santa Claus, Christmas Eve Santa Claus Waiting for the Children to Get to Sleep by Thomas Nast, Emancipation of the Negroes The Past and the Future by Thomas Nast, Can the Law Reach Him? The clever Coke advertisers hired American artistHaddon Sundblom (1899-1976) to create a Santa Claus who would appear as an actual person, not a myth, magician, or an impersonator wearing a fake beard and a padded suit. Thomas Nast Boss Tweed operated with impunityuntil he got under the skin of a 30-year-old political cartoonist named Thomas Nast. Much earlier, the American cartoonist Thomas Nast fashioned Santa Clauss image on the pages of the American magazine, The character of Santa Claus is believed to descend from Bishop Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4, The cult of Saint Nicholas did not escape Europes religious upheavals. The Feast of Saint Nicholas painting executed in the 17th century by Jan Steen for the first time depicts a family celebrating the Feast of Saint Nicholas. He supported Abraham Lincoln andPresident Abraham Lincolndescribed Nast as the best recruiting sergeant for the Union cause since his sketchesinspired readers to support the war effort. The cartoon is lampooning the corruption of Boss Tweed in New York City politics. Why did Thomas Nast draw Santa Claus? With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Nast vigorously supported the cause of the Union and opposed slavery from his drawing board at Harpers Weekly. A husband and wife separated by the war (Nast, 1862). . His new fame spread all over the New World. From then until 1886, Nast contributed yearly illustrations of Santa to the magazineand in the process, did a great deal to cement many aspects of the Santa legend in the popular. When Santa shows the soldiers a jack-in-the-box that seems to be hanging by a noose, the puppet has the face of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. 1881 illustration by Thomas Nast who, along with Clement Clarke Moores poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, helped to create the modern image of Santa Claus His most famous drawing of Santa Claus appeared in the January 1, 1881 issue of Harpers Weekly. Santa Claus exists as certainly as love, generosity and devotion. The plump Santa Claus whom children all over the world will be keeping an eye out for on Christmas Eve is actually a pretty modern creation. Thomas Nast (/nst/; German: [nast]; September 27, 1840 December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the Father of the American Cartoon. Born . As years passed by Nast was adding detailsto the story of Santas life through his illustrations. Although Nast did not use an image of Santa for his 1864 Christmas drawing, he brought St. Nick back in the December 30, 1865 issue of Harper's, which contains a drawing of . Some of this rowdiness likely held over from the pagan Winter Solstice celebrations. The poem was A Visit from Saint Nicholas which began, "Twas the night before Christmas.". For younger children, you could draw the design for them and allow them to colour in the Santa drawing themselves. Probably not, but he is the one remembered in history. The first mention of a well-fed old man riding on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Nasts Christmas drawings were often grander in scope and more detailed than his other work. During Christmas in 1862 Nast first drew Santa Claus but the drawings first appeared on the cover of the January 3, 1863, issue of Harpers Weekly, and shows Santa Claus visiting a Civil War Camp. Thomas Nast did not invent the American Christmas, but the German immigrant did develop the iconic image of its central celebratory figure, Santa Claus. The jovial version of St. Nick popular in the U.S. wasn . Every December 24th millions of people are visited by a short, fat guy in a red suit. His most famous achievement was the resurrection of three young boys killed and placed in a salting tub by a butcher. Nast's Civil War era cartoons established the fat jolly elf from the North Pole with a sack filled with presents as the focus of the December 24 th dreams of hundreds of millions of children . In parallel, Louis Prang (1824-1907), the man who introduced Christmas cards to the United States in 1875, also took part in developing the clich by depicting Santa in a snowy and icy setting, wearing a big coat with a hood lined with white fur, boots and a cloth bag for toys. The British tradition of Father Christmas, a jolly old man who brings gifts to children at Christmas time, also influenced the modern image of Santa Claus. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). In this poem inspired by the folk legends of the German, Dutch and Norwegian communities settled in the United States, one no longer recognizes the austere Bishop of Myra! Doing his first sketches as a teenager, he became a staff illustrator for Harpers Weekly, one of the most popular magazines of the day, in 1862. cartoonist Thomas Nast fbq('init', '271837786641409'); Sundblom drew on American illustrations and those of one of his compatriots, Jenny Nystrm (1854-1946). In Germany, where the Reformation led by the monk Martin Luther banned saint worship, Nicholas was replaced by ChristKindl (Christ Child). The poem was an instant success and played a key role in introducing a portly and larger-than-life Santa Claus to the collective American imagination. Nasts illustrations in Harpers Weekly were printed in black and white. The Atlanta-based company asked Haddon Sundblom, an illustrator of Swedish descent, to depict a paunchy, smiling Santa Claus, dressed in red, with ruddy cheeks and an elfish look. His father was a musician in a military band with strong political opinions, and he decided the family would be better off living in America. Emancipation of Negroes, The Past and the Future. This file has been superseded by MerryOldSanta.jpg.It is recommended to use the other file. The poem describes the Christmas Eve antics of St. Nicholas, the beloved fourth-century patron saint of children. In exchange, Sinterklaas promises to visit them every year on his airborne sleigh and slip down the chimneys of this newly founded city to deliver gifts to the children. if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; The current depiction of Santa Claus is based on images drawn by cartoonist Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly beginning in 1863. His cult began in Northern Europe at the time of the Crusades, particularly in Lorraine, of which he became the patron saint in the Middle Ages. Part newspaper and part magazine, this popular new type of publication relied heavily on illustrations to clarify and enhance the written content. // cutting the mustard In President Lincolns words, Santa Claus became his best recruiting agent! The magazine cover showed Santa Claus looking sad as he watched the young soldiers part with their families, and handed out gifts to Unionist men. In 1860 he went to England for the New York Illustrated News and in the same year went to Italy to cover Giuseppe Garibaldis revolt for The Illustrated London News and American publications. In exchange, Sinterklaas promises to visit them every year on his airborne sleigh and slip down the chimneys of this newly founded city to deliver gifts to the children. She wrote her honors thesis on the life and work of early-20th century art theorist Roger Fry. One of the most famous of Nasts Santa Claus illustrations is a drawing titled Merry Old Santa Claus that appeared in Harpers Weekly in 1881. In 1875, Louis Prang, the father of the American Christmas card, printed a series of postcards with a Santa Claus in a red costume. Nast gives higher purpose to the horror of war in his multi-part depiction of the past lives of African Americans and the future Emancipation could bring them. Mrs. Claus asks in the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie. Nast's Santa generally stayed in line with Moore's depiction of a plump old man with a white beard, but often changed the wardrobe options ranging from suit patterns to hats and shoes. He is credited with one particular miracle: liberating the city of Nancy, capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, from its Burgundian assailants. Thomas Nast was born September 27, 1840, in Landau Germany. Conozca a la influyente autora y figura clave del Renacimiento de Harlem. Although they sometimes contained coded political elements, they most often focused on childhood, sentimentality, and the importance of family. Dressed in robes, with a crown of holly in his head, Father Christmas was a Dionysus-like figure who livened up some pretty wild Christmas parties. Did Thomas Nast have a wife and children? The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Santa first appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1863, draped in an American flag and visiting a Union Army camp (it was a bit of Civil War propaganda). The same issue also contained another Nast illustration juxtaposing a soldier in the field with his wife and children at home. In President Lincoln's words, Santa Claus became "his best recruiting agent!" googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('interstitial-ad');}); *Membership cannot be purchased with Gift Cards. by Jasmine Liu December 23, 2021. s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', A strong supporter of the Republican party, African-American rights, and abolitionism, Nast vigorously attacked all that he found to be corrupt and immoral in 19th-century American politics. The origin of the red color of Santa Claus outfit is a mystery. Nast first drew him for the January 3, 1863, edition of Harper's Weekly. Except for the pipe-smoking, the smiling, bearded, ruddy cheeked, red suit wearing, portly old gent sporting a bundle of toys is pretty much the same figure appearing in the iconic Coca Cola ads that appear in the 1930s, some 50 years later. The drawing was by 22-year-old Thomas Nast, who was born in Germany and came to New York with his family at age 6. The saint appears in the dreams of a sleeping sailors and expresses the wish to see the Dutch immigrants settle and build a city on the island of Manna-hata (Manhattan). hbspt.forms.create({portalId: "6817144",formId: "a36f91dc-2cbf-4f96-9d1a-bf390cb71586"}); Artists Network is with you every step of your art journey. 11 Most Expensive Comic Illustrations Auctioned in the Last 10 Years. Originally, children hoped to receive presents from him on St. Nicholass Day, celebrated on December 6th. Thomas Nast was born onSeptember 27, 1840, in Landau, Germany. By Alexandra KielyBA Art History (with honors)Alexandra is an art historian and writer from New Jersey. Who Drew Santa first? We use cookies to optimize our website and our service. Thomas Nast built upon this 19th-century persona when he began drawing Santa for Harpers Weekly. Cartoonist Thomas Nast Discover the fascinating story of this iconic American garment. Our modern image of Santa Claus is directly indebted to Nasts dozens of Christmas illustrations for Harpers Weekly magazine in the 1860s-80s. During the Civil War, a Nast drawing from 1862 depicted Nicholas as a peddler wearing the colors of the American flag; published on the cover of Harper's Weekly, he became the hero of the Unionists (anti-slavery Yankees). Both Frank Leslies and Harpers Weekly, where Nast later made his name, were illustrated weeklies. And as Reconstruction-era corruption and violence spun out of control, he drew cartoons that criticized black legislators as strongly as earlier cartoons had championed black suffrage and lamented white supremacist violence. A few years later, in December 1823, Clement Clark Moore, a professor at New Yorks Episcopalian seminary, published a poem intended for his own children called. By the 1870s, Nasts image of Santa had become the dominant one in American popular culture. Unsurprisingly, the drawings from the Civil War often fell solidly in the realm of propaganda; Nast staunchly supported abolition, civil rights and the Republicans. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. In this view of Southern justice, a Northerner and a black man are accused of murder and then lynched, while in another panel a Southern gentleman accused of murder is humorously chided by the court. Historians describe the violent conditions that prevailed in the South. The character of Santa Claus is believed to descend from Bishop Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. For this reason, Santa is still sometimes referred to as Saint Nick. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Before long, countless American artists were inspired by the character. In fact, Ulysses S. Grant later commended Nast for his powerful support of the Union, saying that Nast did as much as any one man to preserve the Union and bring the war to an end. Goran Blazeski is one of the authors writing for The Vintage News, Join 1000s of subscribers and receive the best Vintage News in your mailbox for FREE, During the American Civil War, Southern children were fed excuses for Santas absence on Christmas, one excuse was that a Yankee had shot him, Harry Bensley the man who walked around Europe in an iron mask to win a bet, Police arrest a 72-year-old suburban grandfather suspected of being the Golden State Killer, Im not dead yet: some Buddhist monks followed self-mummification, Project Azorian: Howard Hughes secret mission, 1960s U.S. satellite that started transmitting again in 2013, The Walk of Shame in Game of Thrones historical inspiration, The only unsolved skyjacking case in U.S. history might have a break, Kurt Gdel became too paranoid to eat and died of starvation, Little Ease: One of the most feared torture devices in the Tower of London, The humble English girl who became Cora Pearl, Walt Disney softened the original Snow White story. 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