The Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the Loyalists

The Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the Loyalists

William Humphrey

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This satire reflects the dissatisfaction of British loyalists at the end of the American Revolution. Military and civilian men are shown being murdered and strung up as trophies by Native peoples whose feathered headdresses and kilts echo traditional allegorical representations of America. The revengeful figures likely refer to the victorious Americans who, after winning the war in 1781, often confiscated the property of loyalists and also imprisoned and even attacked them. After the Peace of Paris in 1783, many loyalists received financial compensation from the British government.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the LoyalistsThe Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the LoyalistsThe Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the LoyalistsThe Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the LoyalistsThe Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the Loyalists

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.