(Sir) Leslie Ward ('Spy') - Caricature of William Powell Frith, R.A

Price Realized £5,378

Caricature of William Powell Frith, R.A. (1819-1909)
signed 'Spy' (lower left) and with inscription and dated 'W.P. FRITH, R.A./May 10, 1973.' (on the mount)
pencil and watercolour, heightened with touches of bodycolour and with gum arabic, on blue paper, on the artist's original mount
11¾ x 7 1/8 in. (29.9 x 18.2 cm.)

One of the most celebrated and accomplished caricaturists of his time, Ward painted portraits and architectural studies, though he is most famous for his caricatures for the Graphic and from 1873-1909 for Vanity Fair. He studied architecture at the Royal Academy Schools and exhibited from 1868. He was knighted in 1918. The Forbes Collection includes five works by Frith, including For Better, For Worse. Famed for his crowd scenes, Frith painted the varied panorama of Victorian life.