1877: Vanity Fair Spy Cartoon. "Haute Ecole": Spy

Description: CSS Template Vanity Fair Caricature. "Haute Ecole" by Spy Summary Title Vanity Fair Caricature. "Haute Ecole" [Dec 22nd 1877] Publisher Vanity Fair Dimensions Portrait. Overall dimensions: 48cm by 34cm. Image dimensions: 33.5cm by 20cm. Provenance Vanity Fair, "A Weekly Show of Political, Social and Literary Wares". Authenticity All our maps and prints are originals, published at the dated shown above. Description and Condition Description Framed vintage caricature portrait of John Mackenzie Grieve (from the series "Men or Women of the Day"), an accomplished horseman, highly respected for his superior knowledge of equitation. Condition Very Good Minor light blemishes to border. Notes Artist Sir Leslie Matthew Ward (1851 - 1922) was a British portrait artist and caricaturist who over four decades painted 1,325 portraits which were regularly published by Vanity Fair, under the pseudonyms "Spy" and "Drawl". The portraits were produced as watercolours and turned into chromolithographs for publication in the magazine. These were then usually reproduced on better paper and sold as prints. Such was his influence in the genre that all Vanity Fair caricatures are sometimes referred to as "Spy cartoons" regardless of who the artist actually was. Early portraits, almost always full-length (judges at the bench being the main exception), had a stronger element of caricature and usually distorted the proportions of the body, with a very large head and upper body supported on much smaller lower parts. Later, as he became more accepted by his social peers, and in order not to offend potential sitters, his style developed into what he called "characteristic portraits". This was less of a caricature and more of an actual portrait of the subject, using realistic body proportions. Publisher Vanity Fair was a British weekly magazine that was published from 1868 to 1914. Founded by Thomas Gibson Bowles, the magazine included articles on fashion, theatre, current events as well as word games and serial fiction. It is best known for its witty prose and caricatures of famous people of Victorian and Edwardian society, including artists, athletes, royalty, statesmen, scientists, authors, actors, business people and scholars. Vanity Fair was not immediately successful and struggled with competition from rival publications. Bowles then promised his readers 'Some Pictorial Wares of an entirely novel character', and on 30 January 1869, a full-page caricature of Benjamin Disraeli appeared. This was the first of over 2,300 caricatures to be published. The caricatures were primarily by artists Leslie Ward (who signed his work "Spy" and "Crawl") and Carlos Pellegrini (who signed "Singe" or "Ape") but also by others including Sir Max Beerbohm, Melchiorre Delfico ("Delfico"), Liborio Prosperi ("Lib"), Adriano Cecioni, James Tissot ("Coïdé"), Prosper d'Épinay ("Nemo") and the American Thomas Nast. Shipping Standard Shipping All our maps and prints are carefully packed either between sturdy card boards or rolled in robust postal tubes to ensure safe delivery. Returns We offer a full returns policy, no questions asked. Please pay return postage and ship back to us in its original condition within 30 days of purchase.

Price: 50 GBP

Location: Chippenham

End Time: 2025-01-02T12:09:21.000Z

Shipping Cost: 31.22 GBP