The Man Wot Drives the Sovereign
(?) George Cruikshank British
Copy after William Heath ('Paul Pry') British
Subject Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington British
Not on view
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.
