Laughing matters: Art caricature in America, 1878--1918

Between 1878 and 1918, American artists and illustrators produced drawings, paintings, and assemblages that lampoon specific works of art. The spoofs, generally called "caricatures" or "fakes," often exaggerated some notable feature of the original---the color, the brushwork, the composition---to humorous effect. Caricatures of paintings and sculptures appeared in the popular press, as well as in exhibitions where caricaturists came together to display their assaults on famous works of art at art academies, private clubs, and commercial galleries. Although largely unknown today, art caricature flourished around the turn of the century, reaching the height of its popularity at American art schools in the 1890s, where students made fun of their teachers and other established artists.;Art caricature provided a way for American artists to negotiate the changing landscape of artistic modes and institutions around the turn of the century. As the art world pushed toward modernism, a wide range of artists and illustrators produced caricatures of works of art, providing entertaining commentary on pivotal moments in American art, from the first exhibition of the Society of American Artists in 1878 through the Armory Show. For modern artists and their public, the habits of humor and criticism became part of understanding new art. This study seeks to recover this phenomenon and explain its efflorescence in the United States.