James Gillray
Collections record: P.303-1948
1757-1815 Dumourier dining in State at St James’s on the 15th May 1793 Etching with hand colouring, 1793
Gillray has ironically inscribed this print with the words pro bono publico [for the public good]. The French general, Charles François Dumouriez (his name was anglicised in England), is invited to dine by the Opposition Whigs, Charles James Fox and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and Joseph Priestley, defender of the French Revolution. They offer their guest William Pitt’s head, a crown and a mitre, three symbols of the English constitution, parliament, the monarchy and the Church. All the dishes are garnished with frogs. The use of eating as a means of conveying the balance of power is used repeatedly in the caricatures from this period.
Given by Lady Violet Beaumont, 1948 (P.303-1948)
