Santa Claus of Santa in parts of the U.S. A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for 'a fabulous personage' whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called 'Krishkinkle' but in New York he is 'St. Nicholas' or 'Santa Claus'. The author quotes Moore's poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too. As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved in popular culture into a large, heavyset person. One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast, an
Thomas Nast referred to by President Abraham Lincoln as "our best recruiting sergeant". After the war, Nast strongly opposed the Reconstruction policy of President Andrew Johnson, whom he depicted in a series of trenchant cartoons that marked "Nast's great beginning in the field of caricature". Nast's cartoons frequently had numerous sidebars and panels with intricate subplots to the main cartoon. A Sunday feature could provide hours of entertainment and highlight social causes. After 1870, Nast favored simpler compositions featuring a strong central image. He based his likenesses on photographs. In the early part of his career, Nast used a brush and ink