Characters in High Life
June 20, 1795
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 13 7/8 x 9 13/16 in. (35.2 x 25 cm) Sheet: 15 1/16 x 10 15/16 in. (38.2 x 27.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Harry G. Friedman Bequest, 1967
Accession Number
67.539.61
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the satirical world of James Gillray with *Characters in High Life*, an etching published by Hannah Humphrey on June , 1795. This hand-colored print masterfully exaggerates the extravagant fashions of London's elite women, featuring towering headdresses piled high with feathers, fruits, and absurd ornaments, while they wield oversized fans like weapons of wit. Measuring about 14 x 10 inches on the plate, it's a compact yet biting commentary on the excesses of high society during the late 18th century. Gillray, a pioneering British caricaturist, was renowned for his sharp political a...