Henry S. Sadd
Union

ArtistEnglish, active c. 1832– c. 1852
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Union
Datec. 1861
PlaceNew York, United States
MediumEngraving on wove paper, second state
DimensionsPlate: 19 1/2 × 26 1/2 in. (49.5 × 67.3 cm)
Sheet: 24 × 30 1/8 in. (61 × 76.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by friends of Mr. and Mrs. Fred T. Couper, Jr. in their honor
Object numberB.91.22
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

This print represents a reworking of an engraving that had been issued in 1852 to commemorate the Compromise of 1850. This group of laws had to address the balance of power between free and slave states, with California joining the union as a free state and the organization of the Utah and New Mexico territories from land ceded by Mexico after the Mexican-American War. The compromise did not address the future of slavery in the territories; presumably it would be decided later by popular sovereignty. Part of the compromise was the much-hated Fugitive Slave Act, which enacted strong measures against those who sought freedom by self-emancipation.  The law required the federal government to assist enslavers in recovering their human property, prevented the accused fugitive from asserting their legal status, and provided punishments for anyone who assisted an enslaved person seeking freedom.

The start of the Civil War and pro-Union sentiment provided the impetus to revisit this image. On this reworked plate, the face of Abraham Lincoln replaced that of South Carolina’s John C. Calhoun, a vigorous advocate for slavery and enslavers. Other pro-Union figures replaced those who sympathized with slavery and the Confederate cause.


Provenance[The Philadelphia Print Shop, Philadelphia]; purchased by MFAH, 1991.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed below image, left: PAINTED BY T. H. MATTESON
Inscribed below image, right: ENGRAVED BY H. S. SADD. / PRINTED BY W. PATE
Inscribed below image, center: UNION. / Published by William Pate. 16 Burling Sli[p?]. N. Y. / Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1852 by Augustus W. Seaton, in the Clerks Office of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Union
Henry S. Sadd
1852
Engraving on wove paper, first state
B.90.2
Die Eltern (The Parents), Number III
Käthe Kollwitz
1922–1923
Woodcut on Japanese paper, trial proof of second version of state III/VII
2003.983
Wutala, Ancestral Crown
15th–17th century
Gold
2004.2311
This image to be used for all electronic media (website, social media, email)
Eugène Delacroix
c. 1832–34
Oil on canvas
2019.274
Overall recto.
Jill Moser
2010
Second of 12 folios with letterpress in Garamond type, gouache and acrylic on chiffon paper in printed paper cover, edition 3/12
2022.413.2
uncropped recto of sheet
Jacques Villon
1921
Etching on wove paper, second edition of three published in "Du Cubisme"
89.59
Home Improvements
Robert Frank
1984–1985
Video (color, 3/4 in., 29 minutes, 20 seconds)
86.154
Some Notable General Officers at Tampa, Florida
Frederic Remington
June 4, 1898
Wood engraving on newsprint
91.1430.255
Passover Haggadah According to the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rites, 2nd edition
Solomon Proops
1712
Book with 31 folios including woodcuts and copperplate engravings in a modern calf, gilt-tooled and blind-tooled binding with modern paper flyleaves and pastedowns, housed in a modern green leather covered slipcase
2023.39
[Woman with Striped Skirt]
S. Peck & Co.
c. 1856
Daguerreotype in thermoplastic case
2005.64
A Correct View of the Battle Near the City of New Orleans
Francisco Scacki
c. 1815–1816
Etching and aquatint with engraving on wove paper
B.91.46