The Bum Shop
July 11, 1785
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 12 11/16 x 17 3/4 in. (32.2 x 45.1 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
59.533.93
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in the heart of Georgian London, "The Bum Shop" captures the era’s lively tradition of satirical printmaking. Published on July 11, 1785, by S. W. Fores and etched by R. Rushworth, this etching pokes fun at contemporary fashion excesses. The scene likely depicts a bustling shop where exaggerated padded garments—popular “bum” enhancers—are displayed and tried on by fashionable women, much to the amusement of onlookers and their dogs. Etching was the perfect medium for such social commentary. Its fine lines allowed artists to crowd scenes with witty details while enabling rapid producti...