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Alfred R. Waud (1828-1891) was born in London, where his work as a theatrical scene
painter prepared him for his career as one of the most vivid and productive illustrators
of life in the late nineteenth century for the new mass circulation magazines. He
came to America in his twenties, and, after a brief period with the New York Illustrated
News, he spent most of his career working for Harper's Weekly, in whose pages
he established his reputation as the period's most prolific Civil War artist.
After the war his subjects included the South under Reconstruction and Native Americans
in the West. He was on assignment in St. Louis for Every Saturday magazine
when he heard the first news of the Chicago fire, and he quickly caught a train for the
burning city. Several illustrations based on Waud's thirty-one drawings, which he
executed in pencil, chalk, and white paint, soon appeared in Every Saturday.
Six originals are included here.
This is the only drawing included in this exhibition whose descriptive title Waud did not
provide himself, but the exciting subject is clear. An overloaded wagon attempting to make
its way to safety seems to have caught fire. The driver stands as he holds the reins,
struggling to control his panicky team as he himself shies away from the intense heat.
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The Waud Drawings 