The Bulls and Bears in the Market, 1879 is a painting by William Holbrook Beard which was uploaded on May 7th, 2019.
The Bulls and Bears in the Market, 1879
In the Bulls and Bears in the Market, Beard employed bears to symbolize bearish (conservative) investors, and bulls to represent bullish (aggressive)... more
Title
The Bulls and Bears in the Market, 1879
Artist
William Holbrook Beard
Medium
Painting - Oil On Canvas
Description
In the "Bulls and Bears in the Market," Beard employed bears to symbolize "bearish" (conservative) investors, and bulls to represent "bullish" (aggressive) investors. These came into usage on Wall Street in the late 19th century- "bulls" referred to investors who bought stocks cheap in hope of a rise, and "bears" to those who sold stocks for future delivery, hoping that meanwhile the prices would drop. Beard may have been inspired in part by the stock market crash of 1873, which produced the worst depression in nineteenth-century America. In 1882, an American art critic described the conflict depicted in the Bulls and Bears in the Market: "No recent work of Mr. Beard's is more elaborate, or more plainly shows the resources of his imagination, than the great painting entitled Bulls and Bears in Wall Street. Through this thoroughfare, the financial centre of New York and of the United States, we see a vast crowd of struggling bears and bulls rending each other in a tremendous conflict for the master. They are all in dead earnest; it is evident that they have serious work on hand. But the severity of the battle is relieved by touches of humor, such as a bear tossed in the air or a bull with a tuft of wool on his horns. In a side eddy a bear is seen sitting on the pavement busily examining the hide of a bull he has slaughtered and plundered; in another corner a bear is observed busily engaged in studying his account book. In the foreground a magnificent bull with triumphant mien stands forward as champion, and seems to claim the battle for his comrades.
Uploaded
May 7th, 2019
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