Removal of Ancient Landmarks. Wood engraving by George Du Maurier [?]. Source: Punch 80 (25 June 1881): 294. Click on image to enlarge it. Image from the Hathi Trust Digital Library online version of a copy in the University of California Library. [This image may be used without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose without prior permission as long as you credit (1) Hathi Trust and the University of California and (2) link to this site in a web document or cite it in a print one. —George P. Landow]
Lady Gwendoline. “Papa says I'm to be a Great Great Artist, and Exhibit at the Royal Academy!"
Lady Yseulte. “And Papa says I'M To Be A Great Pianist, and play at the at the Monday Pops!"
Lady Edelgitha. “And I’m going to be a famous actress. and act Ophelia, and cut out Miss Ellen Terry! Papa says I may if I can, you know!”
The New Governess. “Goodness Gracious, Young Ladies! Is It Possible His Grace can allow you even to think of such Things! Why, my Papa was only A Poor Half-Pay Officer, But the bare thought of my ever playing in public, of or painting or Hire, would have simply Horrified him!—— would have simply Horrified Him! –and s For acting Ophelia — and anything —— gracious goodness, you take my breath away!“
What Exactly Is This Cartoon About? Who is Mocked?
The cartoon ostensibly mocks the new elderly governess whose belief that public performance immediately destroys a woman’s respectability, associating her with women who worked as either occasional or full time prostitutes. Growing up in poverty, respectability was crucial to both her sense of self and social position, however lowly it was. These young women of the 1880s, who boast of their father's judgment of their artistic abilities, are members of the nobility with titles that guarantee their social position as one of inborn prestige and superiority. They therefore begin their lives and careers — if indeed they in fact become the rare upper-class titled women who pursue a career — insulated from any fear of losing respectability, particularly because they live with the protection of a nobleman father, who seems eager to advance their status in the arts.
But they are adolescents who, as far as the reader can tell, have accomplished very little in their respective arts (though the picture on the easel does seem promising). By 1880 when this cartoon appeared women painters and sculptors were exhibiting at the Royal Academy and other venues, such as the Grosvenor and New Galleries. Still, are they being mocked by the professional cartoonist, who may be Du Maurier, for their pretensions and lack of self-awareness? Is Removal of Ancient Landmarks then a critique of class as essentially caste? — George P. Landow
Last modified 20 March 2022