Secret Influence Directing The New P-l-t [Parliament]
![Secret Influence Directing The New P-l-t [Parliament] by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute|George, Prince of Wales|William Humphrey|Thomas Rowlandson|Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow|William Pitt](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/dp/thumb/secret-influence-directing-the-new-p-l-t-735368.webp)
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 9/16 × 16 7/16 in. (29.4 × 41.8 cm) Plate: 9 3/4 × 13 13/16 in. (24.7 × 35.1 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
59.533.59(b)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in May 1784, *Secret Influence Directing The New P-l-t* is a hand-colored etching that captures the charged political atmosphere of Britain following the recent general election. The print’s title hints at public suspicions of hidden forces shaping the new Parliament, a common theme in Georgian-era satire. Figures such as John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, William Pitt, and Edward Thurlow appear among the cast, reflecting contemporary debates over royal influence and ministerial power. As a hand-colored etching, the work belongs to a lively tradition of affordable political prints that ci...
About the Artist
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute|George, Prince of Wales|William Humphrey|Thomas Rowlandson|Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow|William Pitt (British|British, Scottish|British) · 1697 |1713 |1700 –1764 |1792 |1800
British, London 1697–1764 London|British, Edinburgh, Scotland 1713–1792 London|