Common-Wealth, The Colossus
A caricature of William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, represented as a Colossus balanced on stilts that cross the Atlantic ocean. One of these is marked "Sedition," has hooks on the end and fishes for colonists near New York. The other, marked "Popularity," rests on the Royal Exchange. The figure is supported by crutches, one marked "Pension" and the other hovering over St. Stephen's Chapel–the debating chamber of the House of Commons where Pitt had spent most of his political career. When this print was made, he had just been made Earl of Chatham and left the Commons for the House of Lords. In the background Ireland is represented, with a small figure rising out of the city of Dublin, saying: "Ah by Jesus, we will be independent too". This work is a reissue of a print first published by T. Ewart in 1766.
Artwork Details
- Title: Common-Wealth, The Colossus
- Artist: Anonymous, British, 18th century
- Publisher: Thomas Ewart (British, active 1745–81?)
- Sitter: William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (British, 1708–1778)
- Published in: London
- Date: 1766
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: sheet (trimmed to plate line): 6 15/16 x 9 1/16 in. (17.7 x 23 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of William H. Huntington, 1883
- Object Number: 83.2.1031
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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