Looking Grave on the New Appointment
Print
6/7/1830 (published)
6/7/1830 (published)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Standing to the left in profile, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, later to become King of Hanover, raises his right hand, with his fingers touching his bald head, whilst reading a paper held in his left hand, which is inscribed with ‘Gazette – Sussex – Ranger of Windsor Forest – Cumberland Lodge &c.’. Cumberland’s stance and gesture suggests concern, likely the culmination of a number of issues surrounding him at the time. The paper makes reference to the fact that Cumberland had been overlooked for the post of Ranger of St. James’ Park and Hyde Pak, with his brother, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, taking the position instead. Another point of concern for Cumberland involved the death of his brother, King George IV. On June 26th, 1830, not even a month prior to Heath’s execution of the caricature, Cumberland’s brother died, which, in turn, resulted in the end of Cumberland’s political influence. Finally, ‘Grave’ in the title is heavily shaded, alluding to the recent scandal involving Lady Mary Graves. Towards the beginning of 1830, several newspapers published articles that suggested that Cumberland was having an affair with Lady Graves, the wife of British peer and Member of Parliament, Thomas Graves. In the February, Thomas Graves committed suicide. It was widely suggested that the death of Thomas Graves was instigated by the affair, and many held Cumberland responsible.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Looking Grave on the New Appointment (published title) |
Materials and techniques | printer's ink, paper, etching |
Brief description | Etched caricature, with hand colouring, of the Duke of Cumberland, standing to the left in profile, and looking down at a document he holds. |
Physical description | Etched caricature, with hand colouring, of a tall man standing in profile to the left. His right hand is raised to his head, and he holds a written document in his left. Trees fill the right of the composition, and in the distance to the left is a view of a river and bridge. A yellow and grey border surrounds the image. |
Dimensions |
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Content description | An elongated figure, identified as Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, later to become King of Hanover, is depicted in profile to the left. He raises he right hand, touching his bald head with his fingers, whilst gazing down at a paper. Cumberland is illustrated within a park settin, with the right of the compositon being filled with trees. To the left, and slightly in the distance, a streamboat travels along a river towards a bridge. |
Style | |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
Subjects depicted | |
Associations | |
Summary | Standing to the left in profile, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, later to become King of Hanover, raises his right hand, with his fingers touching his bald head, whilst reading a paper held in his left hand, which is inscribed with ‘Gazette – Sussex – Ranger of Windsor Forest – Cumberland Lodge &c.’. Cumberland’s stance and gesture suggests concern, likely the culmination of a number of issues surrounding him at the time. The paper makes reference to the fact that Cumberland had been overlooked for the post of Ranger of St. James’ Park and Hyde Pak, with his brother, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, taking the position instead. Another point of concern for Cumberland involved the death of his brother, King George IV. On June 26th, 1830, not even a month prior to Heath’s execution of the caricature, Cumberland’s brother died, which, in turn, resulted in the end of Cumberland’s political influence. Finally, ‘Grave’ in the title is heavily shaded, alluding to the recent scandal involving Lady Mary Graves. Towards the beginning of 1830, several newspapers published articles that suggested that Cumberland was having an affair with Lady Graves, the wife of British peer and Member of Parliament, Thomas Graves. In the February, Thomas Graves committed suicide. It was widely suggested that the death of Thomas Graves was instigated by the affair, and many held Cumberland responsible. |
Bibliographic reference | BM Satires 16156 |
Collection | |
Accession number | 1233:48-1882 |
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Record created | June 8, 2009 |
Record URL |
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