James Gillray

Biography

James Gillray (1756-1815) was the leading caricaturist of his time and is now admired as an artist of outstanding inventiveness and originality whose work continues to influence contemporary cartoonists. His prints of the political characters and events of the age, particularly the French Revolution, are among the most memorable and outrageously comical images in the history of British art.  Gillray s artistic reputation rests almost entirely on published work. Conspicuously unlike the completed satires, these range from exquisite watercolour vignettes to uninhibited pen preliminaries .  Gillray's work is rich with political and social allusions and sheer artistry. It is increasingly recognised that he is a vital figure in the story of British art alongside such (eccentric) contemporaries as Blake and Fuseli as well as being a canonical figure in the history of social and political caricature and graphic satire.