Between 1860 and 1880, the illustrator Thomas Nast introduced Santa Claus as a jolly old man with a white beard and red outfit. He also invented the idea of Santa’s home-workshop, and Santa’s naughty-and-nice list.
Being a talented caricaturist, Thomas Nast (1840 – 1902) also destroyed the Tweed Ring, a group of corrupt New York City politicians, through his newspaper and magazine cartoons. The ring was led by William Tweed, called Boss Tweed, who with his associates (including Mayor A. Oakey Hall) defrauded New York City of millions of dollars. Tweed also tried to bribe Nast to stop his relentless cartoon campaigns.
Tweed was convicted in 1873, served only one year in prison, was re-arrested in 1875 but escaped to Spain where he worked as a seaman. Someone recognized him from the famous cartoons and he was returned to the United States in 1876. He died in jail in 1878.
Nast’s Santa survived, and so did his other famous symbols: the elephant of the Republican Party (GOP or Grand Old Party) and the donkey of the Democratic Party.
Youth and education
He was born in the barracks of Landau, Germany (in the Rhine Palatinate), the son of a trombonist in the 9th regiment Bavarian band. The elder Nast's socialist political convictions put him at odds with the German government, and in 1846 he left Landau, enlisting first on a French man-of-war and subsequently on an American ship. He sent his wife and children to New York City, and at the end of his enlistment in 1849 he joined them there. Thomas Nast's passion for drawing was apparent from an early age, and he was enrolled for about a year of study with Alfred Fredericks and Theodore Kaufmann and at the school of the National Academy of Design. After school (at the age of 15), he started working in 1855 as a draftsman for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper; three years afterward, for Harper's Weekly.
Notable works
Nast's depiction of iconic characters, such as Santa Claus and Uncle Sam, are widely credited with giving us the recognized versions we see today.
- A classic version of Santa Claus, drawn in 1863 for Harper's Weekly. Before then, most depictions of Santa Claus showed a tall, thin man. Nast drew him as the bearded, plump man known today.
- Republican Party elephant
- Democratic Party donkey
- Tammany Hall tiger, a symbol of Boss Tweed's political machine
- Columbia, a graceful image of the Americas as a woman, usually in flowing gown and tiara, carrying a sword to defend the downtrodden.
- Uncle Sam, a lanky image of the United States (first drawn in the 1830s; Nast and John Tenniel added the goatee).
- John Confucius, a variation of John Chinaman, a traditional caricature of a Chinese Immigrant.
- The Fight at Dame Europa's School, 1871
Supposed origins of the word "Nasty"
There is a misconception among some that the word "nasty" originated from Thomas Nast's name, due to the tone of his cartoons. However, the word "nasty" has origins hundreds of years before Thomas Nast was born.
The final Curious © phrase:
“Most success springs from an obstacle or failure. I became a cartoonist largely because I failed in my goal of becoming a successful executive”
(Scott Adams)
