Arts and Charts

About This Exhibit

This exhibit surveys economic imagery produced by Americans between the 1830s and the 1930s. It also tells a story about those images. Broadly, it argues that as Americans approached and entered the twentieth century, they encountered fewer illustrations of the corrupt, chaotic, or moralistic economy. Instead, they saw more illustrations of the orderly, predictable, and self-contained economy. Economic life became less of a mystery and more of a math problem in the images that appeared in newspapers, magazines, and political ephemera.

Moving through this exhibit in sequence will tell that story. Visitors are invited to begin in “The Nineteenth Century,” moving through the galleries that survey the art of that era, and then to continue into “The Twentieth Century,” exploring the rise of graphs and charts up to the 1930s, when the exhibit concludes. Visitors may also jump around from page to page in a sequence of their own choosing, focusing on the aspects of the exhibit that interest them most.  Or, they may experience the exhibit simply as a visual gallery, by clicking on the “Gallery” link at the bottom of this page. Here visitors will find all of exhibit objects arranged in chronological order, without accompanying text.

Visitors should consider the limitations of this exhibit. Like all narratives, this one draws on sources that reflect the views of particular historical figures who had particular interests and concerns when it came to economic life. Visitors are encouraged to ask themselves, Who were these images made by or for? What experiences might have led those individuals to seek explanations for the dramatic swings of the economic world? Whose experiences might not be reflected in these sources?


 

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