Poverty and Wealth by William Powell Frith, RA. Signed and dated 1888 at lower left. Oil on canvas: 32 x 47 inches. Provenance: Christie's, 4th May, 1889, lot 139. Exhibited: The Royal Academy, 1888, no. 26. (Exhibited Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, William Powell Frith, 1951, no. 43.) Courtesy of Peter Nahum Ltd, London.
Typical of the London street scenes that Frith painted, the subject's interpretation depends upon minutely observed incident and detail.. There exists a smaller version of the same subject dated 1880 — Christopher Newall
Related material for Comparson and Contrast
- John Leech’s Substance and Shadow
- Fun on Poverty and Starvation in Britain
- John Gordon Thomson’s he Haunted Man
Bibliography
Newall, Christopher. A Celebration of British and European Painting of the 19th and 20th Centuries. London: Peter Nahum, nd [1999?]. Pp. 38-39.
Readers should consult the website of Peter Nahum at the Leicester Galleries to obtain information about recent exhibitions and to order their catalogues. [GPL]
Last modified 1 August 2001