16 Facts About Gillray

James Gillray was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810.

Gillray has been called "the father of the political cartoon", with his works satirizing George III, Napoleon, prime ministers and generals.

Gillray's father had served as a soldier: he lost an arm at the Battle of Fontenoy and was admitted, first as an inmate and subsequently as an outdoor pensioner, at Chelsea Hospital.

Gillray commenced life by learning letter-engraving, at which he soon became adept.

Gillray's caricatures are almost all in etching, some with aquatint, and a few using stipple technique.

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Gillray lived with Miss Humphrey during the entire period of his fame.

One of Gillray's prints, "Twopenny Whist", is a depiction of four individuals playing cards, and the character shown second from the left, an ageing lady with eyeglasses and a bonnet, is widely believed to be an accurate depiction of Miss Humphrey.

Gillray's plates were exposed in Humphrey's shop window, where eager crowds examined them.

In July 1811 Gillray attempted to kill himself by jumping out of an attic window above Humphrey's shop in St James's Street.

Gillray is not to be thought of as a keen political adherent of either the Whig or the Tory party; his caricatures satirized members of all sides of the political spectrum.

Times in which Gillray lived were peculiarly favourable to the growth of a great school of caricature.

Gillray is distinguished in the history of caricature by the fact that his sketches are real works of art.

The historical value of Gillray's work has been recognized by many discerning students of history.

Gillray's caricatures are generally divided into two classes, the political series and the social, though it is important not to attribute to the term "series" any concept of continuity or completeness.

Selection of Gillray's works appeared in James Gillray: The Caricatures printed between 1818 and the mid-1820s and published by John Miller, Bridge Street and W Blackwood, Edinburgh.

Gillray is still revered as one of the most influential political caricaturists of all time, and among the leading cartoonists on the political stage in the United Kingdom today, both Steve Bell and Martin Rowson acknowledge him as probably the most influential of all their predecessors in that particular arena.