Henry Bunbury (caricaturist)
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| - | '''Thomas Rowlandson''' ([[July 14]], [[1756]] – [[April 22]], [[1827]]) was an [[English caricaturist]]. | + | [[Image:1803 0421 barber 300.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''A Barber's Shop'', copperplate engraving, April 21, 1803]] |
| + | :''For his son, see [[Sir Henry Bunbury, 7th Baronet]]'' | ||
| + | '''Henry William Bunbury''' (1750 – 7 May 1811) was an [[England|English]] [[caricaturist]]. | ||
| - | He was born in [[Old Jewry]], in the [[City of London]], the son of a tradesman or city merchant. On leaving school he became a student at the [[Royal Academy]]. At the age of sixteen, he lived and studied for a time in [[Paris, France|Paris]], and he later made frequent tours to the [[Europe|Continent]], enriching his [[Career portfolio|portfolio]]s with numerous jottings of life and character. In 1775 he exhibited a drawing of ''[[Delilah]] visiting [[Samson]] in Prison,'' and in the following years he was represented by various portraits and landscapes. He was spoken of as a promising student; and had he continued his early application he would have made his mark as a painter. But by the death of his aunt, a French lady, he inherited £7,000, plunged into the dissipations of the town and was known to sit at the gaming-table for thirty-six hours at a stretch. | + | The second son of Sir William Bunbury, 5th Baronet (see [[Bunbury Baronets]]), of [[Mildenhall, Suffolk]], he came of an old [[Normans | Norman]] family. He was educated at [[Westminster School]] and [[St Catharine's College, Cambridge]], and soon showed a talent for drawing, especially for humorous subjects. |
| - | In time poverty overtook him; and the friendship and example of [[James Gillray]] and [[Henry William Bunbury]] seem to have suggested [[caricature]] as a means of filling an empty purse. His drawing of [[Vauxhall]], shown in the Royal Academy exhibition of 1784, had been engraved by Pollard, and the print was a success. Rowlandson was largely employed by [[Rudolph Ackermann]], the art publisher, who in 1809--issued in his ''Poetical Magazine'' ''The Schoolmaster’s Tour''--a series of plates with illustrative verses by Dr. [[William Combe]]. They were the most popular of the artist’s works. Again engraved by Rowlandson himself in 1812, and issued under the title of the ''Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque,'' they had attained a fifth edition by 1813, and were followed in 1820 by ''Dr Syntax in Search of Consolation,'' and in 1821 by the ''Third Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of a Wife.'' | + | His more serious efforts were no great success, but his caricatures are as famous as those of his contemporaries [[Thomas Rowlandson]] and [[James Gillray]], good examples being his ''Country Club'' (1788), ''Barber's Shop'' (1803) and ''A Long Story'' (1782). He was a popular character, and the friend of most of the notabilities of his day, whom he never offended by attempting political satire; his easy circumstances and social position (he was colonel of the [[West Suffolk Militia]], and was appointed [[equerry]] to the [[Duke of York]] in 1787) allowed him leisure to practise his talents. |
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| - | He also produced a body of [[erotic print]]s and woodcuts, many of which would be considered [[pornographic]] today. | + | |
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| - | The same collaboration of designer, author and publisher appeared in the English ''[[Dance of Death]],'' issued in 1814-16, one of the most admirable of Rowlandson’s series, and in the ''Dance of Life,'' 1822. Rowlandson also illustrated [[Tobias Smollett|Smollett]], [[Oliver Goldsmith|Goldsmith]] and [[Laurence Sterne|Sterne]], and his designs will be found in ''The Spirit of the Public Journals'' (1825), ''The English Spy'' (1825), and ''The Humourist'' (1831). He died in London, after a prolonged illness, on 22 April 1827. | + | |
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| - | Rowlandson’s designs were usually done in outline with the reed-pen, and delicately washed with colour. They were then [[etching|etched]] by the artist on the copper, and afterwards [[aquatint]]ed --usually by a professional [[engraver]], the impressions being finally coloured by hand. As a designer he was characterized by the utmost facility and ease of [[draughtsmanship]], and the quality of his art suffered from this haste and over-production. He dealt less frequently with politics than his fierce contemporary, Gillray, but commonly touching, in a rather gentle spirit, the various aspects and incidents of social life. His most artistic work is to be found among the more careful drawings of his earlier period; but even among the exaggerated caricature of his later time we find hints that this master of the humorous might have attained to the beautiful had he so willed. | + | |
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| - | His work included a personification of the [[United Kingdom]] named [[John Bull]] who was developed from about 1790 in conjunction with other British satirical artists such as Gillray and [[George Cruikshank]]. | + | |
| + | His son [[Sir Henry Bunbury, 7th Baronet|Henry]] succeeded to the [[baronetcy]]. | ||
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Revision as of 20:09, 25 January 2010
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Image:1803 0421 barber 300.jpg
A Barber's Shop, copperplate engraving, April 21, 1803
- For his son, see Sir Henry Bunbury, 7th Baronet
Henry William Bunbury (1750 – 7 May 1811) was an English caricaturist.
The second son of Sir William Bunbury, 5th Baronet (see Bunbury Baronets), of Mildenhall, Suffolk, he came of an old Norman family. He was educated at Westminster School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and soon showed a talent for drawing, especially for humorous subjects.
His more serious efforts were no great success, but his caricatures are as famous as those of his contemporaries Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray, good examples being his Country Club (1788), Barber's Shop (1803) and A Long Story (1782). He was a popular character, and the friend of most of the notabilities of his day, whom he never offended by attempting political satire; his easy circumstances and social position (he was colonel of the West Suffolk Militia, and was appointed equerry to the Duke of York in 1787) allowed him leisure to practise his talents.
His son Henry succeeded to the baronetcy.
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