James Gillray
1756-1815
Duke William's ghost / Js. Gillray inv. & ft.
[London] : Pubd May 7th, 1799, by H. Humphrey, 27 St. James's Street, [1799]
soft ground etching, hand colored
image: 241 x 347 mm; plate mark: 258 x 362 mm; sheet: 328 x 442 mm
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
1986.165
Notes
Exhibition label: The debauched Prince of Wales (later King George IV; 1765-1837) receives an admonitory visitation from the ghost of his obese great-uncle, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765). With characteristic irreverence, Gillray's cartoon of the squat and rotund figure of the spectral duke renders the macabre scene ludicrous. The exaggerated posture of the sleeping prince recalls that of the sleeper in the famous (and oft-parodied) Gothic fantasy The Nightmare by Anglo-Swiss painter Henry Fuseli (1741-1825). -- On view at the Morgan Library & Museum, Fall 2019.
Provenance
From the library of Gordon N. Ray.
Summary
Print shows the Prince of Wales on his bed, partly dressed, in a drunken stupor, head downwards, right arm hanging to the ground, where are broken bottles and spilt wine. The ghost of his great-uncle, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, immensely fat, and naked except for cocked hat and sabre, emerging from clouds, stands at the bed-side (right), holding up an hour-glass whose sands have nearly run out; in his right hand he raises the bed-curtains which frame the design.
Associated names
Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher.
Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915-1986, former owner.
Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915-1986, former owner.
Artist
Classification
Department
Century prints
Catalog link