Knives, Scissors, and Razors to Grind, plate six from Cries of London
INV-1390engravingprint
Date
1795
Medium
Stipple engraving in brown ink on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 36 × 28.3 cm (14 3/16 × 11 3/16 in.); Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 41.1 × 31.5 cm (16 3/16 × 12 7/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Isaac K. Friedman
This engraving of everyday London life comes from a series of 14 paintings by the Royal Academy painter Francis Wheatley. This series of idealized knifegrinders and cherry, match, primrose, and strawberry sellers was also available in impressions with hand coloring. Wheatley, a portrait painter to the aristocracy, came upon hard times while preparing these canvases, but the dual-language print titles (English and French) attest to the wide-ranging appeal of the engravings.