The Driehaus Museum Presents the Special Exhibition "With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age"

CHICAGO, April 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Richard H. Driehaus Museum is pleased to present the special exhibition With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age, opening June 25, 2016. The exhibition features 74 rare original drawings created for Puck magazine, as well as published cartoons and over 20 vintage publications.

Puck, the pioneering magazine of the Gilded Age, sought to change the world through the power of laughter. Shakespeare's mischievous faerie Puck and his observation on human folly—"What fools these mortals be!" he cries in A Midsummer Night's Dream—were featured on the masthead, and capture perfectly the aims of Puck. Created by Austrian immigrant and cartoonist Joseph Keppler, Sr. in 1876, Puck began as a German language publication. The first English edition came out in 1877, and for the next 40 years, the magazine's talented artists left no stone in society unturned—gleefully ridiculing everything from religion to politics, money, domesticity, and other aspects of daily American life.

Puck's editors encouraged creative experimentation, and hired cartoonists who pushed the limits of the art form. Puck was the first magazine to use full-color lithographs on the front, back, and centerfold, with bold black and white cartoons inside. It published work by the era's most distinguished illustrators, and also proved a training ground for extraordinary new talent. With a Wink and a Nod features original black and white drawings in a variety of styles by Samuel Ehrhart, Louis Dalrymple, Louis Glackens, Franklin Howarth, Frederick Opper, William Rogers, and more.

"This exhibition provides us with the opportunity to discover the provocative illustrations created by prominent cartoonists who remain largely under-recognized while exploring the newsworthy political and social issues of the day through the lens of sarcasm and humor," says the Museum's Executive Director Lise Dubé-Scherr. "When viewing these illustrations, one quickly discovers that many of the issues we are facing today are not very different than those encountered during the Gilded Age. These cartoons are as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago."

The pages of Puck are a unique vantage point for understanding life in Gilded Age America. During this period Chicago banker Samuel M. Nickerson and his family built and lived in the 'Marble Palace', now the Driehaus Museum. The Nickersons may have laughed with recognition when Puck poked fun at the wealthy classes, or enjoyed the special 1893 World's Columbian Exposition edition, which Keppler moved to Chicago briefly to produce. On view in the restored second-floor galleries—once the Nickersons' private bedrooms—With a Wink and a Nod offers an immersive experience of the culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age has been organized by the Flagler Museum, Palm Beach, Florida, with special thanks to Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf.

About the Book

The hardcover companion book With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age (published by The Flagler Museum, Palm Beach, Florida) features 64 illustrated pages filled with the bold cartoons and original drawings featured in the exhibition. The book offers a unique glimpse into these artists' creative process as well as the major themes explored inside the magazine's pages during its four decades of publication.

Visiting the Exhibition and Public Programs

A selection of programs and special events inspired by With a Wink and a Nod will be presented throughout the exhibition. For information, please visit DriehausMuseum.org.

With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age opens at the Driehaus Museum (40 East Erie Street, Chicago, IL 60611) on June 25, 2016 and will run through January 8, 2017.

Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the exhibition is free for Museum members. For additional information about joining the Driehaus Museum, please call 312.482.8933, ext. 31 or visit DriehausMuseum.org. For the public, admission to With a Wink and a Nod is included in general admission. General admission is $20 for adults, $12.50 for seniors ages 65 and over, $10 for students and youth ages 6–12. Children ages 5 and under are free. 

Guided combination tours of the exhibition and Driehaus Museum highlights are $5 in addition to general admission, and take place daily at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. The duration of the tour is approximately one hour. Private groups of 10 people or more may book a group tour of the exhibition by calling 312-482-8933, ext. 44.

For general information, please call 312-482-8933, ext. 21 or visit DriehausMuseum.org.

About the Richard H. Driehaus Museum 
Steps away from Chicago's Magnificent Mile, the Richard H. Driehaus Museum offers visitors a fascinating view of one of the few remaining examples of the palatial homes erected by the wealthy of America's Gilded Age. The lavish interiors are complemented by stunning examples of period furniture, decorative arts, stained glass, and period pieces selected from the Driehaus Collection. For more information about the Museum, visit DriehausMuseum.org.

The Richard H. Driehaus Museum
40 East Erie Street, Chicago, IL  60611
312-482-8933
driehausmuseum.org

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For all media inquiries regarding With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age contact Lindsay Silk-Kremenak, 312-482-8933, ext. 39 or [email protected] or Michelle Molise, 313-549-3137 or [email protected]. Press images for With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age can be found on the Press section of the Driehaus Museum website.

SOURCE Richard H. Driehaus Museum

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