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Conjugal felicity and frogs' duel

Maker

(artist)
1817-1864

Title

Date of Production

1800 - 1899

Medium

graphite, pen and brown ink, watercolour, bodycolour on heavy brown wove paper

Dimensions

Height: 22.1 cm
Width: 27.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.3701

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

John Leech was one of the foremost illustrators for the satirical magazine 'Punch'. This caricature which shows a family of frogs, the parents embracing while blissfully unaware of their duelling offspring, epitomizes his style of bourgeois domestic humour. Leech's view of animals was influenced by Isidore Grandville's 'Public and Private Life of Animals' (1842), and also by the signeries of Thomas Landseer, the brother of Edwin.

Provenance

Dr Carl Robert Rudolf, London (1884-1974); purchased from him by Colnaghi (London), 7 November 1944; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b (verso, lower left), 9 March 1945 (£6); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Captured on Paper, Animals in the Prints and Drawings Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 20/06/2002-11/08/2002

Cartoonists of the British School, East Kent and Folkestone Arts Centre, Folkestone, UK, 16/03/1968-20/04/1968

Some British Drawings on loan to the National Gallery of Canada from the Collection of Sir Robert Witt, American Federation of the Arts, Washington, D.C. and nine cities in the USA, 1951 ...More

Some British Drawings on loan to the National Gallery of Canada from the Collection of Sir Robert Witt, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1949 - 1950 ...Less

Literature

Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 31

Some British Drawings on loan to the National Gallery of Canada from the Collection of Sir Robert Witt, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1949-50
no. 36

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Label: Detached from old mount, now kept in curatorial file: graphite: "John Leech / Exhibited by British Council in Canada 1949/50" by American Federation on Arts, Washington, in 9 cities in U.S.A 1951".

Collector's mark: Verso: lower left corner, stamped in black: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

Inscription: Recto: lower left, brown ink, signed: "John Leech"; lower centre edge, brown ink, titled: "Conjugal felicity.". Verso: lower right, graphite, erased: "14" [or "4"]; lower right edge, graphite, Colnaghi number: "A12679".

Information on this object may be incomplete and will be updated as research progresses. We are particularly committed to addressing any discriminatory or offensive language and ideas that might be present in our records. To help improve this record, and to enquire about images of The Courtauld Gallery Collection, please email gallery.collectionsonline@courtauld.ac.uk. Find out more about using and licensing our images.

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