Do it now!
1909
In this biting 1909 cover of Puck magazine, artist Frank Arthur Nankivell depicts insurance magnate James Hazen Hyde as a lanky, foppish dandy striding arrogantly across a globe labeled 'The Earth.' Dressed in a flamboyant purple suit with ruffles, Hyde towers over two other controversial leaders of the time: the deposed Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II and Venezuelan dictator Cipriano Castro. The artwork satirizes the 'Equitable Life Scandal,' where Hyde threw a lavish party in Paris while his company was in trouble, leading him to effectively exile himself in France. By placing him alongside two leaders facing political turmoil, Nankivell humorously suggests Hyde was rushing to join the ranks of disgraced rulers, all framed by the bold, Art Nouveau-style lettering of the magazine's title.
- Technique
- Color lithograph