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In 1890, Judge Magazine took aim at Chicago’s swaggering bid to host the World’s Fair. The artist imagines the city as an overconfident cowboy straining beneath a globe-sized promise, while Uncle Sam looks on with a familiar mix of annoyance and inevitability. It’s a classic American problem: leaders who chase spectacle, prestige, and headlines—and then expect the public to carry the weight when reality hits.
This piece lands squarely in the tradition of resistance satire that exposes political vanity and the empty theatrics of power. Then as now, grand projects can become distractions from real governance, transparency, and accountability.
A perfect choice for anyone who enjoys watching hubris get the skewering it deserves.
In 1890, Judge Magazine took aim at Chicago’s swaggering bid to host the World’s Fair. The artist imagines the city as an overconfident cowboy straining beneath a globe-sized promise, while Uncle Sam looks on with a familiar mix of annoyance and inevitability. It’s a classic American problem: leaders who chase spectacle, prestige, and headlines—and then expect the public to carry the weight when reality hits.
This piece lands squarely in the tradition of resistance satire that exposes political vanity and the empty theatrics of power. Then as now, grand projects can become distractions from real governance, transparency, and accountability.
A perfect choice for anyone who enjoys watching hubris get the skewering it deserves.