The Wasp — 1894 — page 488: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The central cartoon shows a woman holding art supplies, illustrating a humorous dialogue about art and commerce. A druggist is selling "whisky for medicinal purposes," which the customer claims is "for use in the arts." The druggist skeptically asks if the buyer is an artist, and upon receiving the bottle, the customer replies they've "taken a contract to paint the town red." This is a play on the common phrase "paint the town red" (meaning to celebrate wildly), mocking both artistic pretension and the convenient medicinal excuse for purchasing alcohol. It satirizes how people used loopholes in alcohol regulations by claiming artistic or medical necessity—a relevant issue during the Prohibition era's approach.