Spy [Leslie Ward] "A symphony" [James Abbot M'Neill Whistler]

Spy [Leslie Ward]. "A symphony." [James Abbot M'Neill Whistler]

London: Vanity Fair, January 12, 1878. Approximately 7 x 12 (image). Chromolithograph. 

From January 30, 1869 until February 5, 1914, Vanity Fair, a weekly Society magazine of social, literary and political content, was published to the delight of Victorian and then Edwardian England.  Most popular of its features were the wonderful full page caricatures of famous men and women of the day, prints that are Vanity Fair’s great legacy.  These were drawn by such popular artists as Spy (Leslie Ward) and Ape (Carlo Pellegrini), amongst others.  With subjects ranging from the political to the religious, Americans to Asians, these prints remain one of the most popular of prints from that bygone era. This perceptive and witty portrait is a fine specimen from this humorous and urbane magazine.