American Art Collaborative

The subject matter of this drawing is taken from Aesop's Fables and demonstrates the moral that there is strength in unity: the bundle of sticks cannot be broken when they are tied together, they can only be broken when they are taken one at a time. Darley was primarily known as an illustrator in the 19th century. He worked for "Harper's Monthly" and illustrated the works of numerous famous authors of the day, including Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving and Harriet Beecher Stowe.