Answer to John Bull’s Complaint

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

Draughtsman and printmaker William Heath was born in Northumbria. Little is known of his early life but he may have been raised in Spain and have served in the British army. Heath was 14 when his first satirical cartoons were published and he continued to etch caricatures and illustrate books, including his own ‘Life of a Soldier’ (1823). In 1825-26 he was in Edinburgh, writing and illustrating for the journal ‘Glasgow Looking Glass’. He later returned to London to illustrate a similar journal, ‘Looking Glass’. From 1827-29 he identified his work with a tiny drawing of stage character ‘Paul Pry’, abandoning the motif when it was copied by other artists. From 1830 he concentrated on topographical illustration. He died in Hampstead, aged 45.

People

George IV (1762 - 1830)

Places

Subjects

royal portrait, male portrait, man, 19th century costume, coat, shirt, stockings, waistcoat, breeches, hat, working class, King, Prince, John Bull, cartoon, podium, curtain, chair

Materials & Techniques

etching, coloured etching

Artist

William, ("Paul Pry") Heath (1795 - 1840)

Title

Answer to John Bull’s Complaint

Date

17 June 1815

Medium

Coloured etching

Dimensions

height: 33.50 cm, width: 23.40 cm

Acquisition

Transferred from HM Revenue and Customs, February 2013

Provenance

Inland Revenue, Somerset House; transferred to GAC 2013

GAC number

15560