Catching Rabbits, by William Sidney Mount (1807–1868)

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Date

1839

Description

Two young men or older boys by edge of woods; boy standing in center holding a rabbit out to the left; boy wearing a top hat; other boy is crouched in front of trap resetting it; he is wearing a furry cap; both boys clothes are tattered. Once again, Mount is using engaging allegorical imagery to make humorous political commentary in Catching Rabbits. In the mid-19th century, both political parties, the Democrats and Whigs, used the phrase “catching rabbits” as a way to describe attracting new—and, frequently, immigrant—voters. In this painting, the artist interprets the 1840 presidential election through two boys in the process of catching and resetting their trap for additional “prey.”

Type

Image

Region

Long Island

Era

Expansion and Reform

Topic

Communication, Elections, Government, Immigration

Repository

Long Island Museum

Identifier

0000.001.1008

Source

Long Island Museum, Stony Brook, NY, Melville Collection

Rights

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