'The Union Club'

Artistsback to top

• James Gillray (1756-1815), Caricaturist. Artist associated with 881 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
• Hannah Humphrey (active 1778-1822), Publisher and printseller. Artist associated with 717 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

Sittersback to top

• Sir Jonah Barrington (1760-1834), Lawyer. Sitter associated with 1 portrait.
• Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (1765-1802), Politician and agriculturalist. Sitter associated with 44 portraits.
• Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford (1775-1804). Sitter in 4 portraits.
• George James Cholmondeley, 1st Marquess of Cholmondeley (1749-1827), Chamberlain to the Prince of Wales. Sitter associated with 15 portraits.
• William Henry Fortescue, Earl of Clermont (1722-1806), Irish politician. Sitter associated with 3 portraits.
• George Hanger, 4th Baron Coleraine (1751?-1824), Eccentric. Sitter in 20 portraits.
• Thomas Davies (active 1797-1801), Caricaturist and Major-General. Sitter associated with 4 portraits.
• Edward Smith Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (1752-1834), Sportsman and patron of horse-racing. Sitter associated with 64 portraits.
• Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine (1750-1823), Lord Chancellor. Sitter associated with 67 portraits.
• Charles James Fox (1749-1806), Whig statesman. Sitter associated with 299 portraits.
• King George IV (1762-1830), Regent 1811-19; Reigned 1820-30. Sitter associated with 182 portraits.
• Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings (1754-1826), Army officer; Politician. Sitter in 44 portraits.
• Thomas Tyrwhitt Jones (1765-1811), Politician. Sitter in 8 portraits.
• Sholto Henry Maclellan, 8th Baron Kirkcudbright (1771-1827). Sitter in 3 portraits.
• William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (1737-1805), Prime Minister and patron of the arts. Sitter associated with 63 portraits.
• Montague James Mathew (1773-1819), General and politician. Sitter in 4 portraits.
• John Nicholls (1745?-1832), Politician. Sitter in 20 portraits.
• Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk (1746-1815), Connoisseur and collector. Sitter associated with 55 portraits.
• George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford (1730-1791), Rake and eccentric. Sitter associated with 6 portraits.
• Samuel Parr (1747-1825), Pedagogue and Whig pamphleteer. Sitter in 17 portraits.
• William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry (1724-1810), Rake and patron of the turf. Sitter associated with 12 portraits.
• Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816), Dramatist and parliamentary orator. Sitter associated with 162 portraits.
• Sir Lumley St George Skeffington (1771-1850), Fop and playwright. Sitter in 6 portraits.
• Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (1753-1816), Politician and scientist. Sitter associated with 45 portraits.
• Charles Sturt (1763-1812), Politician. Sitter associated with 2 portraits.
• George Tierney (1761-1830), Statesman. Sitter associated with 48 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This scene of drunken debauchery was a response to a formal print published to celebrate the first meeting of the Union Club, founded after England and Ireland were united in 1800. In the original illustration of the grand inaugural dinner, the Prince of Wales presided over a convivial scene seated on an elaborate throne. Gillray's version highlights the contentious nature of the Union by showing the Prince lying drunk under the table. Above him, the opposition leader Charles James Fox is collapsed in a chair, his feet propped on the table. All those not incapacitated or fighting drink a toast to the Union. Prominent among them are the Irish MP Lord Moira in a green jacket and Lord Cholmondely who raises his hat. The well-known fop Sir Lumley St George Skeffington dances in tipsily from the far right on the arm of an Irish friend.

Portrait setback to top

• James Gillray etchings, 1777-1811 (1801-5)

Subjects & Themesback to top

• Clubs
• Eating and drinking
• Gillray in Focus
• Hats and head-attire
• Ireland