1838

The Footman

British, 1810 - 1890

Townsend, a surgeon who had turned to a career in art, hosted the first Etching Club meeting at his London home. One of the most prolific of the club's original members, producing etchings of primarily genre subjects, Townsend also regularly exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy, London. Completed during the club's early months, this etching reveals the common practice among members to inscribe lines of text below the image to heighten the humorous or poetic content of the scene.