Very unpleasant weather

1820

George Cruikshank

Associated Names
George Cruikshank

Artist, British, 1792 - 1878

George Humphrey

Publisher, British, 1792 - 1878

This is a print of a scene where cats, dogs, and pitchforks are falling from the sky like rain. On the street below, people dressed in colorful clothing attempt to shelter under umbrellas. Some of the people lay on the ground, impaled by pitchforks. Two people sit in a golden carriage, looking out at the chaos. The faces of the people in the print are exaggerated and cartoonish. The background includes several large red buildings in front of green hills and a blue sky.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and engraving with publisher's hand coloring

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 22.1 × 36.2 cm (8 11/16 × 14 1/4 in.)
    sheet: 25.6 × 39.4 cm (10 1/16 × 15 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2013.170.7

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Cohn 1924, no. 2074

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Andrew Edmunds, London); purchased 2013 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2018

  • Sense of Humor: Caricature, Satire, and the Comical in Prints and Drawings from Leonardo to the Present, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2018 - 2019.

Bibliography

1924

  • Cohn, Albert M. George Cruikshank; a catalogue raisonné of the work executed during the years 1806-1877. London, 1924: no. 2074

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: Cruikshank fec.; lower center in plate: Very unpleasant weather, or the old saying verified "Raining cats, dogs, & pitchforks"!!!; lower right in plate: Pubd April 27 1820 by G. Humphrey / 27 St James's Street London

Wikidata ID

Q77005340

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