Stephen K. Yasinow Collection of Thomas Nast Cartoons

Thomas Nast (1840-1902) was a renowned nineteenth century political cartoonist. His work was highly influential in American politics at the time and is still regarded as a valued record of American history. His widely circulated cartoons are credited with helping to elect President Grant and to re-elect President Lincoln. He popularized the famous donkey and elephant symbols of the Democratic and Republican American political parties, along with the images of Santa Claus, Tammany Tiger, and Uncle Sam.

Nast moved from Germany to New York in 1846 as a young boy. His professional career began at 15 years of age, when despite having little formal training in drawing, he became an illustrator forFrank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly. He later traveled to Italy to report on the Garibaldi campaign for theIllustrated London News. Nast began his career atHarper's Weekly during the summer of 1862, following the onset of the Civil War. While working atHarper's Weekly, he gained a reputation as an outspoken supporter of the Union and the abolition of slavery. Following the Civil War, his work focused largely on exposing corrupt politicians, particularly William M. Tweed, who was arrested in 1872. He leftHarper's Weekly in 1886 and began serving as consul general in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1902, where he died of yellow fever.