AKU-1997-003

Unknown, American, c. 1872

Black Friday, September 24, 1869 (Portrait of Jay Gould)

1872

Oil on canvas

124 × 95 cm

Acquisition

Purchased at auction, 1997

Curator’s Note

On September 24, 1869, Jay Gould and his associate James Fisk attempted to corner the entire United States gold market. They had spent weeks bribing officials close to President Grant to prevent the Treasury from releasing gold reserves. When Grant discovered the scheme and ordered the release, the gold price collapsed within minutes. Hundreds of brokers were ruined. The press called the event Black Friday. The New York Times called Gould 'the most hated man in America.' He was thirty-three years old. He subsequently purchased the New York World, the Manhattan elevated railroad, and the Western Union telegraph network. He died in 1892 worth $77 million. His funeral was not well-attended.

Exhibition

gilded-age-digital-age