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The Scotch Ostrich Seeking Cover

Artist and publisher Thomas Rowlandson British
Subject Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville British, Scottish
July 8, 1805
Not on view
Melville, in Highland dress puts his head and shoulders through a hole in a brick wall. He says: "Ah! Ah! - Nae one sees - me now." The wall is inscribed "Parliamentary Recess." At left, two Irish men, one with a blunderbuss, watch him. One of them says to his friend: "Be azy - Brother pat - I see him as plain as ever I have plenty of ammunition left but I shant fire just at present."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Scotch Ostrich Seeking Cover
  • Artist and publisher: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Subject: Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (British, Edinburgh, Scotland 1742–1811 Edinburgh)
  • Date: July 8, 1805
  • Medium: Etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 9 15/16 × 13 11/16 in. (25.2 × 34.7 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.926
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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