This print features a scene in a barber shop. In the center, a tall person with a pointed nose and chin wearing a large white wig holds a shaving bowl. To the right, a person covered in a white cloth sits in a chair looking upwards, their chin covered in a white substance. A person on the left in front of a large blue window appears to wash their hands in a bowl, while another in the background uses a tool to press down on a wig that rests on a mannequin head. The characters all have light skin and wear garments in blue or white. Hanging from the ceiling is a blue sign that reads "The oldest shaving shop in London, most mony for second hand wigs." There is a bird cage perched above the window on the left.
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This print features a scene in a barber shop. In the center, a tall person with a pointed nose and chin wearing a large white wig holds a shaving bowl. To the right, a person covered in a white cloth sits in a chair looking upwards, their chin covered in a white substance. A person on the left in front of a large blue window appears to wash their hands in a bowl, while another in the background uses a tool to press down on a wig that rests on a mannequin head. The characters all have light skin and wear garments in blue or white. Hanging from the ceiling is a blue sign that reads "The oldest shaving shop in London, most mony for second hand wigs." There is a bird cage perched above the window on the left.

National Gallery of Art · Print

A Penny Barber

Thomas Rowlandson

Date
1789
Medium
hand-colored etching and aquatint
Dimensions
sheet: 36.3 × 25.5 cm (14 5/16 × 10 1/16 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
1945.5.585
Credit line
Rosenwald Collection
Time span
1776 to 1800
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • British
  • Seated figure
  • interior
  • architecture
  • Costume
  • Man

NGA object ID 31364. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.