The Great Exhibition "Wot is to Be", Probable Results of The Industry of All Nations in The Year '51, Showing What is to be Exhibited, Who is To Exhibit, in Short How Its All Going to Be Done

Art Historical Context

Step into the whimsical world of 19th-century satire with *The Great Exhibition "Wot to Be"*, a 1850 wood engraving by George Sala, credited to the fictional "Committee of the Society for Things in Their Places." cheeky print, measuring just 5 1/16 x 9 5/16 inches, pok fun at the mounting hype surrounding the Great Exhibition of 1—the world's first international fair held in London's Crystal Palace. With its playful cockney title, it promises to reveal "what is to be exhibited, who is to exhibit, in short how its all going to be done," capturing the era's feverish anticipation for global industrial marvels. Created on the eve of this landmark event organized by Prince Albert, the artwork satirizes the "probable results" of nations' ingenuity, likely through exaggerated caricatures of exhibitors and inventions (as hinted by tags like "Satire|Men"). Wood engraving, a precise technique where metal tools incise end-grain wood blocks for fine-line reproductions, was ideal for punchy illustrations in periodicals, making sharp social commentary accessible to the masses. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1963), this piece reminds us how humor humanized progress, blending excitement with skepticism about modernity's promises. A delightful glimpse into Victorian wit!

About the Artist

George Augustus Sala|Committee of the Society for Keeping Things in Their Places (British|British) · 1828 |1840 –1895 |1860

British, London 1828–1895 Hove|London