Ticket for "The Author's Benefit Pasquin"
1736-1794
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Mrs. George A. Kubler
Accession Number
1949-152-96
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This delicate print, titled *Ticket for "The Author's Pasquin"* by A.M. Ireland (active 1736–1794), captures a slice of 18th-century theater culture. Created as an admission ticket for an author's benefit performance of Henry Fielding's satirical play *Pasquin*, it exemplifies ephemera that fueled London's lively playhouse scene. Fielding's 1736 burlesque, staged at the Haymarket Theatre, lampooned politicians and rival theaters, drawing massive crowds before sparking the Licensing Act of 1737, which censorship on British drama. As a classified print from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's...