Vauxhall Garden

Auguste Charles Pugin|John Bluck|Rudolph Ackermann, London|Thomas Rowlandson

1809 · Hand-colored etching and aquatint · Drawings and Prints

In 1785 an established pleasure complex south of the Thames River in London was renovated and renamed Vauxhall Gardens. Tree-lined walks were adorned with statues and architectural elements and pavilions offered refreshment and entertainment. Most of the buildings were brilliantly lit and nightly attractions included concerts and fireworks. Here, a military band plays on the balcony of a decorated pavilion, as people dine below and couples dance outside–by the early nineteenth century it cost 3 shillings and six pence to enter Vauxhall for an evening during the season which lasted from May to August. Rowlandson visited Vauxhall often and found, as his friend Henry Angelo noted, "plenty of employment for his pencil."

Artist

Auguste Charles Pugin|John Bluck|Rudolph Ackermann, London|Thomas Rowlandson

Date

1809

Medium

Hand-colored etching and aquatint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917