THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK
During the antebellum period, American audiences became fascinated, even obsessed, with celebrity. While celebrity was traditionally associated with fame and its classical ideals of virtue and honor, by the mid-nineteenth century these definitions began to shift as American audiences became enchante...
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University of Kansas
2010
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1808/7734 http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:11275 |
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ftunivkansas:oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/7734 2023-05-15T15:02:09+02:00 THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK Robertson, Letha Clair Eldredge, Charles C. Cateforis, David Kessler, Marni Berg, Chuck Earle, Jonathan 2010 458 pages http://hdl.handle.net/1808/7734 http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:11275 en eng University of Kansas http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:11275 http://hdl.handle.net/1808/7734 This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author. openAccess Art history History Abraham lincoln Celebrity Booth Edwin Nineteenth century Portraiture Hicks Thomas Dissertation 2010 ftunivkansas 2022-08-26T13:11:01Z During the antebellum period, American audiences became fascinated, even obsessed, with celebrity. While celebrity was traditionally associated with fame and its classical ideals of virtue and honor, by the mid-nineteenth century these definitions began to shift as American audiences became enchanted by public personalities. The development of the mass media and the growth of the public relations industry fostered this new fascination. The invention of photography, and especially the inexpensive carte-de-visite, encouraged this interest as for the first time it allowed audiences to collect celebrity portraits cheaply. This posed a challenge for traditional portrait painters who wished to remain competitive in the new market of the celebrity image. This dissertation considers how mass media, photography, and celebrity culture affected traditional portraitists as exemplified through the career of Thomas Hicks (1816-90). Primarily active in New York City, Hicks integrated himself into artistic, political, and literary circles to acquire commissions. My exploration of Hicks's portraits provides insight into the ways in which Americans understood and fostered changing notions of fame and celebrity at mid-century. I argue that these portraits served as calculated constructions to promote and sell both the artist and his celebrated subjects. Chapter One introduces historical and theoretical concepts of fame and celebrity. Chapter Two examines Hicks's early training and how he used the popular press to establish his reputation. Chapter Three explores the dual functions of Hicks's political portraits at mid-century, specifically those of New York governor Hamilton Fish and presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln. Chapter Four investigates literary celebrity, nationalism, and gender constructs as represented by Hicks's Authors of the United States (1860). Chapter Five examines Hicks's multiple portraits of Arctic explorer Elisha Kent Kane within the context of America's new fascination with the Arctic regions; the creation ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Arctic The University of Kansas: KU ScholarWorks Arctic Hicks ENVELOPE(64.763,64.763,-71.144,-71.144) Kane ENVELOPE(-63.038,-63.038,-73.952,-73.952) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Kansas: KU ScholarWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftunivkansas |
language |
English |
topic |
Art history History Abraham lincoln Celebrity Booth Edwin Nineteenth century Portraiture Hicks Thomas |
spellingShingle |
Art history History Abraham lincoln Celebrity Booth Edwin Nineteenth century Portraiture Hicks Thomas Robertson, Letha Clair THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK |
topic_facet |
Art history History Abraham lincoln Celebrity Booth Edwin Nineteenth century Portraiture Hicks Thomas |
description |
During the antebellum period, American audiences became fascinated, even obsessed, with celebrity. While celebrity was traditionally associated with fame and its classical ideals of virtue and honor, by the mid-nineteenth century these definitions began to shift as American audiences became enchanted by public personalities. The development of the mass media and the growth of the public relations industry fostered this new fascination. The invention of photography, and especially the inexpensive carte-de-visite, encouraged this interest as for the first time it allowed audiences to collect celebrity portraits cheaply. This posed a challenge for traditional portrait painters who wished to remain competitive in the new market of the celebrity image. This dissertation considers how mass media, photography, and celebrity culture affected traditional portraitists as exemplified through the career of Thomas Hicks (1816-90). Primarily active in New York City, Hicks integrated himself into artistic, political, and literary circles to acquire commissions. My exploration of Hicks's portraits provides insight into the ways in which Americans understood and fostered changing notions of fame and celebrity at mid-century. I argue that these portraits served as calculated constructions to promote and sell both the artist and his celebrated subjects. Chapter One introduces historical and theoretical concepts of fame and celebrity. Chapter Two examines Hicks's early training and how he used the popular press to establish his reputation. Chapter Three explores the dual functions of Hicks's political portraits at mid-century, specifically those of New York governor Hamilton Fish and presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln. Chapter Four investigates literary celebrity, nationalism, and gender constructs as represented by Hicks's Authors of the United States (1860). Chapter Five examines Hicks's multiple portraits of Arctic explorer Elisha Kent Kane within the context of America's new fascination with the Arctic regions; the creation ... |
author2 |
Eldredge, Charles C. Cateforis, David Kessler, Marni Berg, Chuck Earle, Jonathan |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Robertson, Letha Clair |
author_facet |
Robertson, Letha Clair |
author_sort |
Robertson, Letha Clair |
title |
THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK |
title_short |
THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK |
title_full |
THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK |
title_fullStr |
THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK |
title_full_unstemmed |
THE ART OF THOMAS HICKS AND CELEBRITY CULUTRE IN MID-NINETEENTH-CENTURY NEW YORK |
title_sort |
art of thomas hicks and celebrity culutre in mid-nineteenth-century new york |
publisher |
University of Kansas |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/7734 http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:11275 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(64.763,64.763,-71.144,-71.144) ENVELOPE(-63.038,-63.038,-73.952,-73.952) |
geographic |
Arctic Hicks Kane |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Hicks Kane |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:11275 http://hdl.handle.net/1808/7734 |
op_rights |
This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author. openAccess |
_version_ |
1766334140306685952 |