Plucking a Spoony
February 28, 1812
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 15/16 × 13 7/16 in. (25.2 × 34.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.533.1965
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson's *Plucking a Spoony*1812) is a lively hand-colored etching that captures the cheeky spirit of Regency-era satire. Depicting a scene of gambling mischief with playing cards and drinks in play, the print shows women slyly "plucking"—or fleecing—a gullible young man, the "spoony," at a card table. Rowlandson, a master of British caricature, used bold lines and vibrant hand-coloring to amplify the humor, making the 9 15/16 × 13 7/16 in. sheet a vivid snapshot of social folly. Created amid Britain's golden age of satirical prints, this work skewers the vices of the time: gamblin...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson · 1756–1827
Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was an English artist and caricaturist whose satirical watercolors and prints captured the social life of Georgian Britain with unparalleled wit and technical mastery. Alongside James Gillray, he is recognized as one of the greatest British graphic artists, and his distinctive flowing line and keen observations have made his work integral to understanding late 18th an...