A Favorite Painting 36

John Sloan, Election Night 1907

Is there any way, not knowing the title of this piece, that you would guess it represents a political celebration (as opposed to say a New Year's Party)? One possible clue is the fake nose worn by the reveler in the lower right corner of the picture-- a takeoff on Pinocchio perhaps? I think you can guess how that would relate to politics. How about the brazen red dress of the woman in the center of the festivities-- could that be an allusion to a radical turn which was definitely in the air in the first decade of the 20th century when a number of Socialist candidates won (mostly) local offices? Actually I think the ultimate giveaway is the elevated train steaming overhead. Even more prevalent than radicalism in that era was the momentum generated by the Progressive movement, a response to modernism that sought to preserve a semblance of democracy and justice in the face of rampant and rapacious industrialism. The train symbolized the modern age better than anything else, representing technology, mobility, and money while literally cutting through the rural countryside whose decline (in power if nothing else) it heralded. The presence of the train in this painting certainly implies moving ahead, just as the celebrants signal the optimism widely held about the future. It seems almost quaint today, to realize the trains are mostly gone, much of the optimism invested in politics is gone, even the commitment to massive production in the nation seems to be gone. Not to seem overly maudlin about this, but I wonder if there's a comparable image that will convey such a positive outlook of our times, looking back a hundred years from now?