Connoisseurs Examining a Collection of George Morland's
Gillray here burlesques the style of the recently deceased George Morland, who had specialized in rural subjects. Standing within a saleroom, four men cluster together as they examine a painting of large pigs lying near a thatched hut. The figures are probably the engraver and connoisseur Captain William Baillie, the banker Matthew Mitchell, Caleb Whitefoord and the collector George Baker. Slightly apart at right, the picture dealer and restorer Mortimer spits on a picture of a boar to clean it. Morland's naturalism contrasted markedly with the elevated style encouraged by the Royal Academy and used to paint history subjects, then considered high in art.
Artwork Details
- Title: Connoisseurs Examining a Collection of George Morland's
- Artist: James Gillray (British, London 1756–1815 London)
- Publisher: Hannah Humphrey (British, ca. 1745–1819)
- Subject: Captain William E. Baillie (Irish, Kilbride, County Carlow 1723–1810 London)
- Subject: George Baker (British, active late 18th–early 19th century)
- Subject: possibly John Julius William Angerstein (British, 1735–1823)
- Subject: Matthew Mitchell (British, active 1786–1807)
- Subject: George Morland (British, London 1763–1804 London)
- Subject: Mr. Mortimer (British, active 1786–1807)
- Subject: Caleb Whitefoord (British, Edinburgh, Scotland 1734–1810 London)
- Date: November 16, 1807
- Medium: Hand-colored etching and aquatint
- Dimensions: Sheet: 14 13/16 × 11 15/16 in. (37.7 × 30.4 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Jill Spalding, 2022
- Object Number: 2022.309.3
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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