The Man Wot Drives the Sovereign
British prime minister, the Duke of Wellington, is satirized here as a coach driver. Wearing a greatcoat, a broad-brimmed hat and carrying a whip, he holds a newspaper lettered "...Bill" (a reference to the Catholic Relief Bill). Likely an unauthorized copy, this print is based on a larger work by William Heath. The latter artist designed a series in 1829 caricaturing figures close to the king and suggesting it was their influence that persuaded the conservative monarch to accept the ground-breaking legislation.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Man Wot Drives the Sovereign
- Artist: (?) George Cruikshank (British, London 1792–1878 London)
- Artist: Copy after William Heath ('Paul Pry') (British, Northumbria 1794/95–1840 Hampstead)
- Subject: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (British, 1769–1852)
- Date: 1829
- Medium: Etching, hand-colored
- Dimensions: Sheet: 5 1/8 × 4 5/16 in. (13 × 11 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.888-272
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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