A Bawd on Her Last Legs

1784, published 1792

Thomas Rowlandson (artist); S W Fores (publisher)

Associated Names
Thomas Rowlandson

Artist, British, 1756 - 1827

S. W. Fores

Publisher, British

The image shows three individuals: an elderly woman, a younger woman, and an older man. The elderly woman is seated in an armchair, with her full body visible, wearing a pink dress with puffed sleeves and a bonnet. Her facial expression is weary, eyes slightly closed, and she is resting her head back on the chair. The younger woman is standing beside the chair, her upper body visible, bending slightly forward toward the seated woman. She has loose curly blonde hair, adorned with a ribbon and a white bonnet. She wears a yellow dress with lace details and holds a lit candle on a brass holder. The older man is seated on the floor, his full body visible, leaning forward with closed eyes and holding his face. He is dressed in a light blue coat with white lace trimming and holds a hat and a walking stick. The scene is set against a textured, abstract background with muted tones of gray and green. The artist's signature and the date "1792" appear in the lower left corner, and below the image is the title "A Bawd on Her Last Legs."

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, aquatint, and lift-ground aquatint with hand coloring on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed within platemark): 27.5 × 37.5 cm (10 13/16 × 14 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1945.5.204

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Grego 1880, Vol. I, no. 311

Associated Artworks

See all 199 artworks

The Village Doctor

Thomas Rowlandson

1774

Caricatures (volume I)

Thomas Rowlandson

1756

The School of Eloquence

Thomas Rowlandson

1780


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

2021

  • Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2021 - 2022.

Bibliography

1880

  • Grego, Joseph. Rowlandson the caricaturist; a selection from his works with anecdotal descriptions of his famous caricatures. 2 vols. London: Chattoand Windus, 1880. Reprint. New York: Collector's Editions, 1970.

Inscriptions

in plate, in image, at lower left: T. Rowlandson / 1792; in plate, below image, at center: A BAWD ON HER LAST LEGS. / Pub Oct.r 1 1792 by SW Fores No 3 Piccadilly

Wikidata ID

Q65025880

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