In the context of this artwork, explore the 1884 tarring of the Pranks.
In 1884 The Harvard Crimson reported that,
"Some ingenious persons covered the John Harvard statue last night with a coat of tar. The same persons presum­ably, marked a large '87 on the wall at the entrance of the chapel," 
and in 1886 the Crimson mentions a further incident: "A graduate contribu­tor to the Advocate suggests that the editors of the college papers ferret out the authors of the small disturbances, such as the painting of the John Harvard statue."
John Harvard The Harvard Crimson Harvard Crimson Crimson