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Food has long carried political meaning, and its significance in revolutionary America is no exception. Join art and culinary historian Nancy Siegel for a lecture and historic food tasting which investigates a distinct genre of culinary-inspired satirical prints produced by artists sympathetic to the plight of American colonists. Imagine King George III placing a fleet of ships in an oven about to be baked like gingerbread, the Prince of Wales gorging himself on the fortunes of Empire, the American colonies represented as a kettle of fish, exploding teapots—visual metaphors that spoke to the conditions and events that eventually dismantled the British Empire: non-importation movements in the American colonies, complex trade embargoes, protests over taxation, the anti-saccharite movement that called for boycotts of sugar from the West Indies produced by enslaved laborers, and—ultimately—Revolution.
About Nancy Siegel
Nancy Siegel
Nancy Siegel is Assistant Dean and Professor of Art History & Culinary History at Towson University where she specializes in American landscape studies, underrepresented women artists of the 19th century, print culture, and culinary history of the 18th and 19th centuries. She provides historical cooking demonstrations, tastings, and lectures widely on landscape and food histories
in addition to serving as an art and culinary consultant for museums and non-profit institutions. This lecture is based upon her forthcoming book, Political Appetites: The Power of Food in Revolutionary America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026) available now for preorders and the documentary Feeding the Revolution (WMHT).
