Ladys Maid Soaping Linnen.

Date1769

Publisher Carington Bowles 1724 - 1793

Engraver Philip Dawe

After work by Henry Morland

OriginEngland, London

MediumMezzotint engraving on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 21 1/4 × 15 1/2 in (53.97 × 39.37cm)
Platemark: 19 7/8 × 14 in (50.48 × 35.56cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1968-64

DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "Ladys Maid Soaping Linnen./ Hen. Morland pinx.t/ Carington Bowles excudit./ Phil. Dawe fecit/ LONDON, Published as the Act directs A.D. 1769./ Printed for CARINGTON BOWLES, Map & Printseller, N.o 69 in S.t Pauls Church Yard."Label TextThis print demonstrates the close working relationship between painter and engraver. The prints were based on oil paintings made by artist Henry Robert Morland, who painted a series of compositions depicting women engaged in domestic chores. Morland's friend, pupil, and potential relation, Philip Dawe, engraved and published the series as mezzotints in 1769. Dawe's and Morland's work carried on the tradition of Philip Mercier's "Domestic Employments," a 1740s series of prints depicting well-dressed women completing various chores.ProvenanceBefore 1968, J. A. Lloyd Hyde [d. 1981] (New York, NY); 1968-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).