The enraged husband and the extravagant wife

Details

THOMAS ROWLANDSON (LONDON 1756-1827)
The enraged husband and the extravagant wife
pencil, pen and grey ink and watercolour
11 1⁄2 x 14 7⁄8 in. (29.2 x 37.8 cm.)

Provenance

Mrs C.W. Dyson Perrins; Sotheby's, London, 24 February 1960, lot 51 (£200 to S. & R. Rosenberg).
Baron Alain de Rothschild (†); Christie's, London, 3 July 2018, lot 105, where purchased by the present owner.

Literature

A.P. Oppé, Thomas Rowlandson, his drawings and watercolours, London, 1923, pl. 7.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

A satirical scene of an enraged man reproaching his wife for her spendthrift ways. He stands, clutching the bill which reveals her latest extravagant purchases, and gesticulates furiously. In comical contrast, his wife is seated calmly in her chair, wearing an expression of nonchalance, patently unperturbed by her husband's outburst. She is clothed in ostentatious and clearly expensive finery.

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