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A Print Sale – A Night Auction

1788
Not on view
Rowlandson here describes the interior of a sale-room lit by a chandelier. Conoisseurs, observors and potential buyers sit on benches behind trestle-tables arranged in an arc, with additional figures standing at the back. The auctioneer Hassel Hutchins raises his hammer at center as his clerk, Judd, writes at a small table, his form bathed in shadow. Attendants display lots, including a large volume held open for a group at left that includes the spectacled figure of the antiquary Dr. Michael Lort, librarian to the Duke of Devonshire as librarian. Framed pictures hang on the walls and statuettes adorn a chimney-piece.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Print Sale – A Night Auction
  • Series/Portfolio: Imitations of Modern Drawings
  • Etcher: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Sitter: Hassel Hutchens (British, active 1784–95)
  • Sitter: Dr. Michael Lort (British, 1725–1790)
  • Sitter: Judd (British, 1784–89)
  • Date: 1788
  • Medium: Etching
  • Dimensions: Plate: 7 1/16 × 10 3/4 in. (18 × 27.3 cm)
    Sheet: 8 1/4 × 11 15/16 in. (21 × 30.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.280
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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The Sailor's Return from Active Service
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Ships and Sailors, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Ships and Sailors
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