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The Card Players
1851
J. Dalton; Charles Burt; American Art Union; Richard Caton Woodville (1825-1855)
USA: New York, New York City
Engraving on paper with watercolor
sheet: 13-1/2"h x 18-3/8"w
Special Acquisitions Fund
78.74.3

The Card Players colored engraving; two men seated playing cards, one man standing near table, one African American man at left; scene includes iron stove, wall clock, looking glass, etc.; bottom reads "Painted by R. C. Woodville/ The Card Players/ Engraved by Charles Burt/ Engraved from the original picture in the possession of William I [J?]. Moppin, Esqr./ American Art Union, 1850/ Printed by J. Dalton/ Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1851 by the American Art Union in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Southern District of New York".


Here, in a disheveled waiting room, two men play cards while another considers their game. A fourth man, an African-American enslaved person or servant, sits apart and waits with folded hands. Behind him, an uncased clock marks the passing time. In the 1700 and 1800s consumers often purchased clockworks and clock cases separately. The inclusion of this unfinished-looking clock in the untidy room helps create an impression of time wasted.