The Fall of Icarus

Thomas McLean|Ducôte and Stephen|John Doyle|William IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Henry Peter Brougham

November 29, 1834 · Lithograph · Drawings and Prints

The Fall of Icarus — Thomas McLean|Ducôte and Stephen|John Doyle|William IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Henry Peter Brougham

Lord Chancellor Brougham is here cast as Icarus falling through the air after flying too close to the sun (the sun in this image contains the face of William IV). His collapsing wings are lettered "Edinburgh Review," "Society of useful knowledge," "Penny Encyclopædia," "Morning Chronicle," and "Globe," all journals to which the Chancellor contributed articles to praised the king (and by extension himself). The image suggests that recent speeches given during a provicinal tour implied too great a degree of familiarity with the monarch, whose hot response is here to melt the wax of his minister's great seal, causing him to fall from office.

Artist: Thomas McLean|Ducôte and Stephen|John Doyle|William IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Henry Peter Brougham
Date: November 29, 1834
Medium: Lithograph
Department: Drawings and Prints
Credit line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2014