Art Young was one of the top political cartoonists of the early 1900s. A formally trained artist, he chose cartooning as his weapon to reach the masses. Although he started as a conventional news illustrator, he later became a crusader against the injustice and corruption of Gilded Age business, imperialism, politics and society. But he did it with a subversive wit that captivated readers in newspapers and magazines across America.
A controversial artist ahead of his time, much of the work by Art Young is as relevant today as when it was first published. Among his most popular images are those from his books that place corrupt citizens in Hell.
In The Beginning Was A Talented Boy, Determined To Make A Difference
Arthur Henry Young (January 14, 1866 – December 29, 1943) was born in Illinois less than a year after the Civil War ended. His family moved to a 20-acre farm in Monroe, Wisconsin where his father worked as a farmer and grocer.
The illustrations of the renowned French artist Gustave Doré inspired Art Young as a boy. He attended the Academy of Design in Chicago earning his way by selling illustrations for news stories in the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Young later moved to New York where he entered the Arts Students League. According to Historian John Simkin, the League…
“…developed a reputation for progressive teaching methods and radical politics. In 1900 it had nearly a thousand students and was considered the most important art school in the country.” (Spartacus-Educational)
Among the many influential artists Art Young met there were John Sloan and George Bellows who later became part of the Ashcan School. (Ashcan Artists)
He Was A Child Of The Gilded Age
Art Young grew up and matured into his profession during a time that came to be known as the Gilded Age that spanned the late 1870s to the early 1900s. The extreme contrasts of the era ultimately shaped Young’s vision.
The Gilded Age was a time of innovation that triggered a massive shift from agriculture to industry that resulted in a movement to the cities and westward migration. Rapid industrialization triggered “economic growth, and prosperity for the wealthy. It was also a time of exploitation and extreme poverty for the working class.” (Investopedia)
At the top were famed captains of industry including Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Leland Stanford and Cornelius Vanderbilt. They amassed fortunes by creating monopolies in steel, petroleum and transportation.
With economic growth came jobs and a burgeoning middle class for skilled workers. But it was also a time of economic devastation and dangerous working conditions for labor.
Novels of political and social protest emerged as a new genre of American literature.
Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner coined the phrase in their famous satirical novel The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. Published in 1873 and set in post-Civil War America, the story is about a poor rural family’s money-making schemes to sell a piece of land. Thematically it reflects the greed and corruption of the time. The title ultimately gave name to the era.
According to Twain, The Gilded Age glittered on the surface, but was corrupt beneath. Industrialists, bankers and tycoons enjoyed extraordinary wealth while controlling politicians behind the scenes. Meanwhile, the working class struggled to feed their families. (Twain and Gilded Age)
Investigative journalism of “muckrakers” emerged. Yellow Journalism of publishers including Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World newspaper created an appetite for articles that were critical of political corruption and fraudulent business leaders, unfair labor practices and racial inequality. These new headers helped launch new star journalists like Nellie Bly.
Young Began To Question The Status Quo
In the late 1800s, Art Young found success as he regularly illustrated stories for numerous newspapers including Pulitzer’s New York World and acclaimed publications like Life and Puck. He also spent a year studying painting in Paris.
In 1892 Young took a position with the Chicago Inter-Ocean where he worked under Thomas Nast. While Nast was known for such accomplishments as the final vision of America’s Santa Clause for Coca-Cola, he was also the most important American political cartoonist of the 19th century.
According to Historian Michael Mark Cohen:
“Nast’s successful campaign against New York’s corrupt machine politician “Boss Tweed” provided Young with proof that cartoonist had the power to affect real political change. ‘I have always felt,’ wrote Art Young in 1927, ‘that there is more power in my talent than in the mind of a statesman.’” (CartooningCapitalism)
Young was deeply affected by working with a speech by Keir Hardie, a trade union leader and the first socialist member of the House of Commons. Hardie’s words encouraged Young to further question his conservative views.
According to Historian John Simkin:
“In March 1902 Art Young was commissioned to draw an anti-immigration picture for Life. Historian Michael Mark Coehn writes:
“ After it was published he sent back the $100 cheque and vowed that in future he would only draw pictures that reflected his own political beliefs. By this time Young’s work was so highly valued that newspapers and magazines were willing to accept his drawings attacking inequality and supporting causes he believed in such as women’s rights.” (Spartacus-Education)
He Joined Masses Magazine And Got Arrested
From 1911 to 1917 Art Young was a co-editor of the left-wing monthly magazine, The Masses. His most famous cartoons from this publication were critical of US involvement in WWI.
When the USA declared war on the Central Powers in 1917, The Masses lost its mailing privileges.
Young was arrested under the newly passed Espionage Act for one titled, “Having Their Fling,”
The magazine staffers faced a possible 20 years in prison, but two trials ended in hung juries. The charges were eventually dropped. As a result of stress from the trials plus continual government harassment, The Masses folded.
Among his pursuits after The Masses ceased publication, Art Young was part of the team that started The Liberator magazine.
Metropolitan Magazine hired him as a Washington correspondent but fired him due his anti-war illustrations.
More Legal Troubles Brewed With The Associated Press
Another Art Young cartoon ended in a lawsuit, this time from the Associated Press. Young was angered by the fact that the AP barely covered the yearlong strike in West Virginia where miners on Paint Creek demanded the same pay as miners in other areas. The federal government declared Martial Law and violence broke out.
Young’s co-editor, Max Eastman, wrote an editorial that accused the AP of concealing information in order to help coal companies in their fight against the miners. When lawyers subpoenaed APs records, they dropped the lawsuit.
Hell Hath No Fury Like A Cartoonist In Hell
Among the most beloved works created by Art Young are his series of three books of cartoons set in hell. Dante’s Inferno, illustrated by his childhood hero Gustave Doré no doubt inspired Young to create these three comic graphic novels over his career.
The first trip, Hell Up To Date: The Reckless Journey of R. Palasco Drant, Newspaper Correspondent, Through the Infernal Regions, as Reported by Himself was published in 1892. In this version of hell, Young depicts a wide range of people condemned to Hell along with short captions.
The second, Through Hell with Hiprah Hunt: A Series of Pictures and Notes of Travel Illustrating the Adventures of a Modern Dante in the Infernal Regions Also Other Pictures of the Same Subterranean World by Arthur Young.
Published in 1901, this visit includes more of Young’s mature political and social commentary. On this trip, preacher Hiprah Hunt sets out to prove the existence of hell. Along the way he encounters corrupt politicians, businessmen and frauds of all types in the midst of their tailored punishments. (View here at Project Gutenberg)
The final visit to hell published in 1934 is titled Art Young’s Inferno: A Journey Through Hell Six Hundred Years After Dante. In this version, Satan has lost control of Hell to U.S. capitalists.
Michael Mark Cohen writes:
“With so many of their class condemned to Hell, the capitalists have effectively led a hostile takeover, deposing old man Satan and transforming the Inferno into the last refuge of the free market. In Young’s vision, capitalism seems to naturally thrive in Hell. Everything in this new Hell is privatized and operated by a monopoly, maximizing both profits and inconvenience.” (CartooningCapitalism)
The Legacy Of A Brilliant Cartoonist
Many fans believe that Art Young blazed a trail to modern comic books and graphic novels. While he found success in his life, he also found turmoil and was often broke.
As Caryn Davis of InkCt writes, he did many illustrations for labor publications without pay because he believed in the cause. Once he refused to work for publications whose views he opposed, his financial situation suffered.
According to author Andy Piascik, Art Young created an estimated 6,000 drawings in his career. When he moved to New York he placed much of his work in storage. Some of those are on display at the Art Young Gallery in Bethel, just a mile from where he last lived. The gallery was established by a group of residents who were fans of his work.
The Bethel Historical Society also recently brought out Types of the Old Home Town, a previously unpublished manuscript by Young about his years in Bethel and the people he knew there. (ConnecticutHistory)
Trail blazer Art Young remains as current today as he was in centuries past. He’s a shining example of a life well lived true to his beliefs.
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Working in Mexico at the same time as Art Young, Jose Guadalupe Posada (February 2, 1852 – January 20, 1913) was known for his socially satirical prints, engravings and drawings. Among other issues his work satirized the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz and bourgeois lifestyle of the pre-revolutionary era. French artist Jean Charlot called Posada the “printmaker to the Mexican people.”
