Object Record
Images
Metadata
Collection |
British Watercolors |
Catalog Number |
2000.026.032 |
Title |
An English Gentleman |
Artist |
Dighton, Richard |
Object Name |
painting |
Description |
An English Gentleman no. 92 |
Provenance |
Purchased as part of the British watercolors collection 1966,67, in memorial of Gloria Dougherty, Dorothy Logan, and Lilian Ross. Robert Dighton was the son of the London printseller John Dighton .. In the 1770s he began acting and singing in plays at the Haymarket Theatre, Covent Garden and Sadler's Wells while at the same time training and exhibiting at the Royal Academy - he entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1722. He also exhibited at the Free Society of Artists between 1769-73. The first prints he designed were of actors for John Bell's edition of Shakespeare (1775-76). As an artist, he was first offered consistent employment by the publisher Carington Bowles (fl.1752-93). This was the heyday of the so-called 'droll' mezzotint and Robert's output of designs, executed in watercolour and then engraved, was an integral part of his stock. Carington Bowles was among of the most active mapsellers of his day in London, which will explain Dighton's caricature maps in his "Geography Bewitched" series, including Ireland, England and Wales and Scotland. Much of Dighton's early work was issued anonymously, but by the early 1790s it became increasingly well-known and he began etching and publishing under his own name. In awkward poses and with ruddy faces, Dighton's satirical caricatures included lawyers, military officers, actors and actresses who were seen about town, as well as down-at-heel types. In 1795 he brought out a Book of Heads and thenceforth devoted himself chiefly to caricature. His work is noted as being less savage than that of his contemporaries, James Gilray and George Cruickshank. |
Medium |
watercolor on paper |
Dimensions |
H-12 W-8 inches |
Catalog date |
2000-02-14 |