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Vaux-Hall

Vaux-Hall

(English, 1756–1827)
(English, 1755–1838)
(English, 1747–1812)
1785
Medium/TechniqueEtching, engraving, and aquatint printed in warm brown ink
DimensionsSheet: 54.2 × 78 cm (21 5/16 × 30 11/16 in.)
Credit LineKatherine E. Bullard Fund in memory of Francis Bullard
Accession number2019.769
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPrints
Description

Here, the wealthy are at play in Vauxhall Gardens, a sort of amusement park on the south bank of the River Thames. There’s music coming from the balcony, but the crowd pays little attention. The print is a sort of celebrity Where’s Waldo, as nearly every figure was famous at the time. Only a few are still well known today, most notably the group having dinner at lower left. They include (from left to right), the writers James Boswell, Hester Piozzi (twice!), Samuel Johnson (eating the chicken), and Oliver Goldsmith.

Provenance2019, sold by Andrew Edmunds Prints and Drawings, London, to Susan Schulman Fine Art, New York and Carolyn Bullard Fine Prints and Drawings, Dallas; 2019, sold by Carolyn Bullard Fine Prints and Drawings to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 19, 2019)