Joyce Thornburg (NC), Beware the Dark Horse

Oil on canvas, signed at lower right, presented in a floater frame.

Frame dimensions 25 1/4 x 19 1/4 in.

Exhibited:
William King Museum, Cherry Bounce / American Politics, Abingdon, Virginia, September 2016 - January 2017

Joyce Thornburg works from her studio / gallery at Wedge Studios in The River Arts district in Asheville, North Carolina. She is a member of the Circle Foundation for the Arts, London.

This painting is Thornburg's interpretation of the 1852 U.S. Presidential Election which gave rise to the phrase "Beware the Dark Horse," referencing Franklin Pierce. Pierce was a little known New Hampshire Democrat who unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination and then the presidency, defeating war hero Winfield Scott, signaling a deepening North-South divide over slavery despite promises of national unity from the Democrats.

White paint splatters to top edge of frame.