Santa Claus in Camp (from "Harper's Weekly," vol. 7, p. 1)
January 3, 1863
Medium
Wood engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 3/4 × 10 9/16 in. (37.4 × 26.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1929
Accession Number
29.88.4(7)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This wood engraving by Thomas Nast, published in Harper’s Weekly on January 3, 1863, captures Santa Claus visiting a Union Army camp during the American Civil War. Created just days after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, the image shows the holiday figure surrounded by soldiers, tents, and horses, offering gifts and cheer amid the conflict’s hardships. Nast, a leading illustrator for the influential New York periodical, used the widely circulated format to reach a broad Northern audience. Wood engravings like this one were essential for 19th-century print culture, allowing detailed ...
About the Artist
Thomas Nast|Harper's Weekly · 1840–1902
Thomas Nast (1840–1902) was the most powerful political cartoonist in American history, an artist whose images shaped public opinion, toppled corrupt politicians, and gave enduring visual form to some of the most cherished symbols of American popular culture. Born in Landau, Germany, he emigrated with his family to New York as a child and received his artistic training at the National Academy of D...