The Actress' Prayer!!
August 10, 1801
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Image: 7 3/16 × 87 13/16 in. (18.3 × 223 cm) Plate: 8 × 9 3/4 in. (20.3 × 24.8 cm) Sheet: 16 7/16 × 10 1/16 in. (41.7 × 25.5 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
59.533.2101
Tags
Art Historical Context
**The Actress' Prayer!!** (1801) is a satirical etching by Edward Spragg, Thomasson, and George Matroyd Woodward, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings Prints collection (The Elisha Whittelsey Collection 1959). Created the vibrant Georgian era in Britain, this print captures the era's love for caricature and theater, with Rowlandson—a master of humorous social commentary—leading the collaboration. Its exaggerated title hints at a mock-serious plea from an actress, poking fun at the ambitions, rivalries, and societal views of women in the performing arts. Etching allowed the artists...
About the Artist
Edward Spragg|Thomas Rowlandson|George Murgatroyd Woodward (British|British) · 1794 |1757 –1850 |1827
British, active London, 1794–1850|British, London 1757–1827 London