Common-Wealth, The Colossus

Thomas Ewart|Anonymous, British, 18th century|William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

1766 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

A caricature of William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, represented as a Colossus balanced on stilts that cross the Atlantic ocean. One of these is marked "Sedition," has hooks on the end and fishes for colonists near New York. The other, marked "Popularity," rests on the Royal Exchange. The figure is supported by crutches, one marked "Pension" and the other hovering over St. Stephen's Chapel–the debating chamber of the House of Commons where Pitt had spent most of his political career. When this print was made, he had just been made Earl of Chatham and left the Commons for the House of Lords. In the background Ireland is represented, with a small figure rising out of the city of Dublin, saying: "Ah by Jesus, we will be independent too". This work is a reissue of a print first published by T. Ewart in 1766.

Artist

Thomas Ewart|Anonymous, British, 18th century|William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

Date

1766

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of William H. Huntington, 1883