The Union Club

1801

James Gillray

Associated Names
James Gillray

Artist, British, 1757 - 1815

Hannah Humphrey

Publisher, British, c.1745 - 1818

This is a drawing of a crowded banquet room filled with attendees engaging in a celebration. There is a large central table cluttered with bottles, cups, and spilled liquid. Some guests are in humorous postures, with exaggerated poses of inebriation. The atmosphere is chaotic, with flying hats and furniture. An ornate clock is visible on the wall. The scene is detailed and captures a comical essence of a satirical commentary on social behavior.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and engraving, hand-colored with watercolor by the publisher

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 29.6 x 43.9 cm (11 5/8 x 17 5/16 in.)
    sheet: 43.2 x 58.5 cm (17 x 23 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.45.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Wright and Evans 1851, no. 257

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Cowdray Park (according to inscription); (Andrew Edmunds, London); purchased 2012 by NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1851

  • Wright, Thomas and Robert H. Evans. Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray; Comprising a Political and Humorous History of the Latter Part of the Reign of George the Third. London, 1851. Reprint. NY: B. Blom, 1968: no. 257

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: Js. Gillray / inv. & fect.; "We'll join hand in hand, all Party shall cease / And Glass after Glass, shall our Union increase"; lower center in plate: THE UNION-CLUB. / London, Publish'd Jany 21st 1801 by H. Humphrey, St. James's STreet; lower right in plate: "In the cause of Old England we'll drink down the Sun, then toast Little Ireland, & drink downt he Moon!-" by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: P& E Cowdray Park / 0911.2 BHMM

Wikidata ID

Q76560923

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