Leslie Ward "SPY" Lithograph on Paper "Below the Mark"

Item Details

A lithograph on paper titled Below the Mark by well-listed English artist Leslie Ward ‘SPY’ (1851-1922). Depicted is a caricature of Samuel Langhorne Clemens known by his pen name Mark Twain. A printed inscription along the top reads ‘Vanity Fair Supplement’. This work is signed in plate to the lower right and titled below the image. Work is presented with a plastic cover in a white mat.

Leslie Ward was born and raised in London and attended Eton, where he began to draw caricatures of his peers. Soon after he became an apprentice to W. P. Frith and began to exhibit his portraits in oil and watercolor. In 1873, Thomas Gibson Bowles viewed some of Ward’s caricatures and promptly commissioned him to work for Vanity Fair. During this time he adopted the pseudonym ‘Spy’ and went on to draw 1300 caricatures and cartoons for Vanity Fair. His original drawings for Vanity Fair are housed in the National Portrait Gallery, London as well as the Dumfries House, and the Walker Art Gallery.

Condition

- minor wear is present to the mat.

Dimensions

- measures in mat; sheet size: 10.50" W x 15.50" H.

Item #

17CHI091-059