Artwork
The Union Club
The Union Club is a watercolor print by the Romanticist artist James Gillray. It dates from 1801 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed: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
About this work
Overview
The Union Club is a 1801 print by James Gillray, an English caricaturist and printmaker, created using etching, engraving, and hand-coloring with watercolor.
Subject & Meaning
The print satirizes British politics and society by depicting a crowded, ornate club room where prominent men, caricatured with distorted facial features, gather around a table. The image ridicules the self-importance of powerful individuals.
Technique & Style
Gillray employed etching and engraving to produce the print, which was then hand-colored with watercolor by the publisher. The soft, dreamy quality of the watercolor glazes contrasts with the exaggerated facial features of the subjects, highlighting the satirical tone.
History & Provenance
The print is part of the National Portrait Gallery's collection in London, exemplifying Gillray's significant contribution to the development of early political cartooning, often targeting public figures like George III and other political leaders.
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Artist & collection
Artist
James Gillray (13 August 1756 – 1 June 1815) was an English caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810.
