The Family Party
published February 20, 1801
Medium
Hand-colored etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 22.2 × 33.8 cm (8 3/4 × 13 5/16 in.); Plate: 24.6 × 35 cm (9 11/16 × 13 13/16 in.); Sheet: 25.1 × 37 cm (9 15/16 × 14 5/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
89826
Art Historical Context
"The Family Party," a hand-colored etching by Charles Williams published on February 20, 1801, captures a lively domestic scene typical of early nineteenth-century British printmaking. Created during a period when satirical and genre prints flourished in London, the work reflects the era’s growing interest in everyday social interactions. Williams, active as a caricaturist, used the etching medium to reach a broad audience through affordable, reproducible images that often commented on contemporary life. The technique of etching on ivory laid paper, followed by delicate hand-coloring, was esp...
About the Artist
Charles Williams · 1797–1830
Charles Williams (1797–1830) was a British caricaturist and printmaker who worked in London during the final decades of the Georgian era, producing satirical prints for the thriving trade in political and social caricature that flourished in the city's print shops. He worked in the tradition established by such masters as James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson, whose biting visual commentary on polit...