Connoisseurs Examining a Collection of George Morland's

James Gillray|Hannah Humphrey

November 16, 1807 · Hand-colored etching and aquatint · Drawings and Prints

Gillray here burlesques the style of the recently deceased George Morland, who had specialized in rural subjects. Standing within a saleroom, four men cluster together as they examine a painting of large pigs lying near a thatched hut. The figures are probably the engraver and connoisseur Captain William Baillie, the banker Matthew Mitchell, Caleb Whitefoord and the collector George Baker. Slightly apart at right, the picture dealer and restorer Mortimer spits on a picture of a boar to clean it. Morland's naturalism contrasted markedly with the elevated style encouraged by the Royal Academy and used to paint history subjects, then considered high in art.

Artist

James Gillray|Hannah Humphrey

Date

November 16, 1807

Medium

Hand-colored etching and aquatint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Jill Spalding, 2022