Sales by Auction
published May 6, 1819
Medium
Hand-colored etching on paper
Dimensions
Image: 21.4 × 33.9 cm (8 7/16 × 13 3/8 in.); Sheet, cut to platemark: 23.4 × 34.5 cm (9 1/4 × 13 5/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
89955
Art Historical Context
**Sales by Auction** is a vibrant hand-colored etching by George Crushank, a master of British satire, published on May 6 1819. Measuring about 21 x 34 cm, this print captures the chaotic energy of a public auction house, likely poking fun at the era's booming art and goods markets amid economic turbulence. Cruikshank, for his sharp caricatures in the tradition of William Hogarth and James Gillray, used exaggerated figures and witty details to lampoon social follies, making his works both entertaining commentary and enduring cultural snapshots. Created during a time of post-Napoleonic recover...
About the Artist
George Cruikshank · 1792–1878
George Cruikshank (1792–1878) was born in London on 27 September 1792, the son of Scottish caricaturist Isaac Cruikshank and Mary MacNaughton. His older brother, Isaac Robert Cruikshank, was also a caricaturist and illustrator, while his sister Eliza worked as a designer. From a young age, Cruikshank assisted his father in the studio, contributing titles, backgrounds, and lettering to cartoons by ...