Modern Oddities, by P. Pry Esq., Plate 1st
During the second quarter of the nineteenth century women’s fashions in Britain shifted away from a Neoclassical silhouette. Tightly corseted bodices returned and were accentuated with exaggerated puffed sleeves and full round skirts ending above the ankles to display feet in flat slippers. Heads were adorned with “salad plate hats”, wide-brimmed and decorated with ribbons and feathers. Heath worked with the publisher Thomas McLean to create a series of popular etchings that exaggerated aspects of the new style to the point of absurdity. For titles, he often borrowed quotations from Shakespeare; this one is derived from a scene in The Taming of the Shrew (4.3.143). From 1827–29 Heath used the image of a little dandy holding an umbrella to sign prints, seen here at lower left, a reference to Paul Pry, a nosy character in an 1825 play by John Poole.
Artwork Details
- Title: Modern Oddities, by P. Pry Esq., Plate 1st
- Artist: William Heath ('Paul Pry') (British, Northumbria 1794/95–1840 Hampstead)
- Publisher: Thomas McLean (British, 1788–1875)
- Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
- Date: June 30, 1829
- Medium: Hand-colored etching
- Dimensions: plate: 10 1/8 x 14 1/4 in. (25.7 x 36.2 cm)
sheet: 11 3/4 x 15 9/16 in. (29.8 x 39.5 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund and The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1969
- Object Number: 69.524.42
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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William Heath ('Paul Pry')
S. Gans
1830
William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Thomas McLean
1827–29
Multiple artists/makers
1827–29
William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Thomas McLean
1828–29
William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Thomas McLean
1828
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