ticketsMember | Make a donation

Pie-Us Ecstacy – or Godliness (the Itinerant Preachers) Great Gain

Publisher Alexander Beugo British
Subject William Huntington British
November 19, 1825
Not on view
Rowlandson created this grotesque image of greed to condemn false piety. It portrays William Huntington, a wealthy, eccentric Nonconformist preacher who began life as a coal-heaver. He is shown in a state of ecstasy brought on not by a heavenly vision but by thoughts of venison and mulligatawny soup. Verses below parody an epitaph that Huntington wrote in anticipation of his own demise, in which he declared himself to be an unrecognized prophet. Rowlandson’s less complimentary version states: "Here lies W. H. once a heaver of Coals/ but he left his employ, and turned saver of Souls/ And he changed for the better too, fifty times o'er/ For instead of a Coal-cart–he kept Coach and four."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pie-Us Ecstacy – or Godliness (the Itinerant Preachers) Great Gain
  • Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Publisher: Alexander Beugo (British, active 1801–25) , London
  • Subject: William Huntington (British, Cranbrook 1745–1813 Tunbridge Wells)
  • Date: November 19, 1825
  • Medium: Etching
  • Dimensions: Plate: 11 1/4 x 8 3/4 in. (28.5 x 22.3 cm)
    Sheet: 11 13/16 x 9 1/4 in. (30 x 23.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.1783
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Migrants, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Migrants
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Going to Ivy Bridge, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Going to Ivy Bridge
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
The Sailor's Return from Active Service, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
The Sailor's Return from Active Service
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Departure of Blanchard and Jeffries' Balloon from Dover, January 7, 1785, Thomas Rowlandson British, Hand-colored etching
Departure of Blanchard and Jeffries' Balloon from Dover, January 7, 1785
Multiple artists/makers
January 1794
Ships and Sailors, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Ships and Sailors
Thomas Rowlandson
late 18th–early 19th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.