Knives, Scissars, and Rotors to Grind
January 1795
Medium
Stipple engraving in brown on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 36 × 28.3 cm (14 3/16 × 11 3/16 in.); Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 41.1 × 31.5 cm (16 3/16 × 12 7/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13909
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This engraving of everyday London life comes from a series of 14 paintings by the Royal Academy painter Francis Wheatley. This series of idealized knifegrinders and cherry, match, primrose, and strawberry sellers was also available in impressions with hand coloring. Wheatley, a portrait painter to the aristocracy, came upon hard times while preparing these canvases, but the dual-language print titles (English and French) attest to the wide-ranging appeal of the engravings.