Mrs. George Hay Drummond, and Children
Caroline Watson, English, 1760 - 1814
after Samuel Shelley, English, about 1750 - 1808
1789
Stipple engraving printed à la poupée on silk
Plate: 7 3/8 × 5 11/16 in. (18.7 × 14.5 cm)
Sheet: 9 5/16 × 6 3/8 in. (23.6 × 16.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Class of 1935 Memorial Fund
2020.17.1.2
Publisher
John and Josiah Boydell, London, England
Geography
Place Made: England, United Kingdom, Europe
Period
1600-1800
Object Name
Research Area
On view
Inscriptions
Engraved, along lower right side of oval image: Engraved by Carol‘ Watson; engraved along lower left side of oval image: Painted by Sam.‘ Shelley; engraved, bottom center: Mrs. GEORGE HAY DRUMMOND, / AND CHILDREN.; engraved, at bottom: published June 1st 1789 by. John and Josiah Boydell, in Cheapside, [sic] & at the Shakspeare Gallery Pall Mall. London.
Label
This portrait features the young wife of a clergyman and their two children in a moment of familial calm. Its circular form and small scale evoke portrait miniatures, like those in the opposite drawer of this case. Printed portraits were immensely popular and produced in both black-and-white and colorful versions. This luxury edition, unusually printed on silk, required significant diligence on the part of the printer, who applied the individual inks to the plate with a bound rag (poupée), a printing technique that was later replaced by the use of separate plates for each color.
From the 2025 exhibition Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Making Colors in Europe, 1400–1800, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art
Exhibition History
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Making Colors in Europe, 1400–1800, Harrington Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 6, 2025 - November 14, 2026.
Provenance
Bruce McKittrick Rare Books, Inc., Narbeth, Pennsylvania; sold to the present collection, 2020.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu