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A Peep into Friar Bacon's Study

March 3, 1784
Not on view
King George III is represented as Friar Bacon, standing in a magician's room and holding pointers at three circles, which represent the Constitution during different time periods. From left to right, they are inscribed "Time is Past," "Time Is," and "Time Was." The first shows the king seated on a throne surrounded with rays of glory emanating from him. Two small circles of the two Houses of Parliament sit on the exterior. The second has three circles within it, the King's being the largest, followed by the House of Lords, and then the House of Commons. The third contains three circles of equal size, representing three equal branches of government. Edmund Burke, Frederick North, and Charles James Fox look in through a doorway at left.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Peep into Friar Bacon's Study
  • Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Publisher: William Humphrey (British, 1742?–in or before 1814)
  • Sitter: George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland (British, London 1738–1820 Windsor)
  • Sitter: The Right Honorable Edmund Burke (British, born Ireland, Dublin 1729–1797 Beaconsfield)
  • Sitter: Charles James Fox (British, 1749–1806)
  • Sitter: Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (British, 1732–1792)
  • Date: March 3, 1784
  • Medium: Etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 9 1/4 × 12 13/16 in. (23.5 × 32.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.44(a)
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Migrants, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
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Going to Ivy Bridge
Thomas Rowlandson
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The Sailor's Return from Active Service, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
The Sailor's Return from Active Service
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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

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