The Quaker, and the Commissioners of Excise

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

George Moutard Woodward was an amateur caricaturist from Derbyshire, who moved to London in about 1792. He designed numerous political caricatures, some in the form of comic strips. Woodward’s designs are often coarse and crudely drawn. Several examples were etched by Thomas Rowlandson. Woodward is said to have lived a ‘dissolute’ life. He was in his forties when he died in a tavern in 1809, the year after this work was published.
Thomas Rowlandson was born in London, the son of a bankrupt wool and silk merchant. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools, making a trip to Paris during his time there, and won the silver medal in 1777. During the next two decades he made several continental tours, visiting France, Italy, Germany and Holland, as well as travelling extensively in England and Wales. He exhibited from 1775 to 1787 and, in 1789, received a legacy from an aunt, which he is said to have gambled away. From 1798, much of his work was for Rudolf Ackermann, most notably his illustrations for the three Tours of Dr Syntax (published 1812, 1820, and 1821) and The Microcosm of London (1808–10). He revisited France in 1814 and Italy in about 1820. Rowland continued to work almost until the end of his life. He is most famous as a caricaturist, but his work also included figure studies, portraits, marine subjects and landscapes.

Places

Subjects

quill, ink pot/ink stand, satire, man, 19th century costume, coat, waistcoat, breeches, spectacles, wig, hat, shoe, Quaker, cartoon, chair

Materials & Techniques

etching, coloured etching

Artist

George Moutard Woodward (1760 - 1809)
Thomas Rowlandson (1756 - 1827)

Title

The Quaker, and the Commissioners of Excise

Date

9 July 1807

Medium

Coloured etching

Dimensions

height: 26.80 cm, width: 36.90 cm

Acquisition

Transferred from HM Revenue and Customs, December 2012

Provenance

Inland Revenue, Somerset House; transferred to GAC 2012

GAC number

15563