Historical Artist - George Cruikshank (1792 - 1878)
George Cruikshank was the son of Issac, a caricaturist of the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. Following in his father’s footsteps, he became a successful political
cartoonist in his teenage years. He was recognized as the successor of Gilray upon his death in
1815 and completed some of his unfinished works. Initially, Cruikshank focused on the Prince
Regent in his satires but began targeting the new king, George IV in 1820. He was paid not to
depict the monarch in any of his cartoons and thereafter switched to social topics. At this
time, Cruikshank also turned from prints to book illustrations, his increasing output earning
him a greater reputation across Europe. Perhaps his most famous book illustration was the cover
of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist in 1837.
Contemporary United Kingdom Artists
Art Galleries in the United Kingdom
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