contact us | site guide | search  » Reading Guide •  Link RESOURCE MENU » Reading Guide Link Reading Guide 8. Election Night Images of Big City Politics - John Sloan, Election Night, oil on canvas, 1907 - Henry Glintenkamp, Voting Machines, illustration, The Masses, November 1913 These selections visually capture the world Plunkitt lived in and Steffens described. Like George Bellows (see PEOPLE), both Sloan and Glintenkamp studied under Robert Henri in New York and drew for The Masses, a socialist magazine published from 1911 until the government suppressed it in 1917. Sloan (1871-1951)—born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania—taught himself to draw by copying prints by Rembrandt, Durer, and Hogarth. He studied with Thomas Anshutz (see PROGRESS) at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and began his career as a staff artist for the Philadelphia Press. His work for The Masses displays a caustic wit, but his paintings are generally colorful and exuberant. He called them "bits of joy." Glintenkamp (1887-1946) was born in Augusta, New York, and studied at the National Academy of Design. His drawings appeared in a variety of publications. Voting Machines appeared in The Masses, and like others he did for that publication, is characterized by sharp irony. 2 pages. Discussion questions How does Sloan use color in Election Night? What figures attract the viewer's attention? What effect does Sloan's use of space and his massing of the figures have on the viewer? What is the tone of the painting? Who is Sloan's audience, and how might they respond to this painting? What does the painting suggest about city politics? about American democracy? Who is Glintenkamp's audience, and how might they respond to his cartoon? What does the title "Voting Machines" suggest? What do the poses of the figures in "Voting Machines" suggest? What is the tone of the cartoon? What does "Voting Machines"suggest about city politics? about American democracy? How might Plunkitt have responded to these images? Steffens? » Link Topic Framing Question   •  How did Americans respond to the shifts in economic and political power that occurred during this period? John Sloan (American, 1871-1951), Election Night, 1907. Oil on canvas (alternate title: Election Night in Herald Square). 26 3/8 in. x 32 1/4 in. (66.99 cm x 81.92 cm). Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. Marion Stratton Gould Fund: 41.33. Permission pending. Toolbox: The Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870-1912 Memory | Progress | People | Power | Empire Contact Us | Site Guide | Search Toolbox Library: Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature National Humanities Center Web site comments and questions, contact: nhc_ed@nationalhumanitiescenter.org Copyright © 2005 National Humanities Center. All rights reserved. Revised: May 2005 nationalhumanitiescenter.org