British, 1756 - 1827
Thomas Rowlandson (July 1756 - 22 April 1827), a political caricaturist with Radical sensibilities, drew on popular and lower-class characters as his subjects. He illustrated the life of 18th/19th - century England by creating comic images of familiar characters such as the antiquarian, the old maid, the Grub Street hack etc. His 'Characteristic Sketches of the Lower Orders' were published in 1820, and were intended as a companion to Leigh's 'New Picture of London'.
The son of a bankrupt merchant, Rowlandson became a student at the Royal Academy on leaving school, and studied for some time in Paris. On inheriting £7000, Rowlandson gambled heavily, and having befriended other satirical artists such as James Gillray, used his drawing skills to pay his debts.
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