Artwork
The Poll
The Poll is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Thomas Rowlandson. It dates from 1784 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:recto: in plate, in image, at upper left: The Rural / Candidates / Farce; in plate, in image, at upper right: DUKE / and no DUKE / Play; in plate, below image, at center: The POLL; in plate, below image, at right: London Publishd by Wm Humphrey. No 227 Strand.; verso: in graphite at lower right in later hand: B-11, 32 [upsidedown]
- Markings
- Marked:none
About this work
Overview
Created in 1784, The Poll is a print by English caricaturist Thomas Rowlanduson that combines etching, stipple work, and hand‑applied colour on wove paper. The image captures a bustling public gathering, rendered with the satirical eye typical of Rowlanduson’s output during the Georgian period.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows a woman in a green dress and pink sleeves being hoisted onto a seesaw by two men, while a surrounding crowd watches and brandishes banners. Her delighted expression and the merriment of the men suggest a light‑hearted celebration, perhaps commenting on the exuberance of public polling or popular opinion.
Technique & Style
Rowlanduson employed a combination of line etching and stipple shading to define figures and background, then added selective hand colouring to accentuate the woman’s attire and the blue shawl. The blend of precise draftsmanship with vivid pigment reflects the artist’s skill in producing lively, narrative prints for a mass audience.
History & Provenance
The work belongs to a series of socially oriented prints that Rowlanduson produced to comment on contemporary events. As a product of the late eighteenth‑century British print market, it would have been distributed as a single‑sheet illustration, circulating among the public and contributing to the period’s visual satire.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 1757 – 21 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation.
