The Waldo Branch will be open for hold pickups only Monday, December 9 through Thursday, January 2 due to branch upgrades.
Stump Speaking
Depicted here are men of a rural town gathered around to hear a campaigning politicians speak. In this iteration of the work, the speaking politician's figure transcends the crowd, further sticking out amongst the working men with his white suit coat and hair. He is in the process of responding to an inquiry from a gentleman before him in the crowd leaning on a cane with tattered clothing. The painting was part of Bingham’s Election Series, which depicted the still-evolving democratic political cycle in the United States in the mid-19th century. Bingham wrote of the piece, “In my orator I have endeavored to personify a wiry politician, grown gray in the pursuit of office and the service of the party. His influence upon the crowd is quite manifest, but I have placed behind him a shrewd clear-headed opponent, who is busy taking notes, and who will, when his turn comes, make sophisms fly like cobwebs before the housekeeper’s broom.” The crowd surrounding them is comprised of men who differ in age, socio-economic background and degrees of interest, but Bingham unites them as a populous that falls under their potential representative. Cognizant of the distracted dynamic of competition between politicians, Bingham clarifies each face in the crowd to represent the vote associated with each man, and the resulting power of those votes.