Wit's Last Stake, or the Cobbling Voters and Abject Canvassers
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 3/8 × 14 1/4 in. (26.3 × 36.2 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
59.533.62
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century British satire, Thomas Rowlandson's *Wit's Last Stake, or the Cobbling Voters and Abject Canvass* (1784) captures the chaotic energy of political campaigning. This hand-colored etching, measuring 10 3/8 × 14 1/4 inches, skewers the infamous Westminster election of that year, where Whig politician Charles James Fox for a seat. The title mocks desperate canvassers—depicted as groveling figures—and "cobbling" voters, perhaps shoemakers or those patching together votes in a high-stakes gamble ("wit's last stake"). Rowlandson, a master of caricature in the Geor...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire|Charles James Fox · 1756–1827
Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was an English artist and caricaturist whose satirical watercolors and prints captured the social life of Georgian Britain with unparalleled wit and technical mastery. Alongside James Gillray, he is recognized as one of the greatest British graphic artists, and his distinctive flowing line and keen observations have made his work integral to understanding late 18th an...