AFTER ED (ACTIVE 1796)
Rachel Pringle of Barbadoes.
1796RCIN 810473
A hand-coloured print of Rachel Pringle-Polgreen who was the owner of a famous hotel in Bridgetown, Barbados. By the time of her death in 1791, she was one of the wealthiest citizens in the town. Rowlandson made this print, showing Pringle-Polgreen in front of her hotel, after a drawing by an unidentified artist with the initials ‘E.D.’
The print is unique in Rowlandson’s oeuvre. It is on a large scale and of a very high quality, with skilfully applied aquatint (the grey tone) used to model the carefully-depicted figures. It is not intended to be humorous, but rather to provide an interested public with a portrait of one of the most important figures in Barbados, at the time a British colony. The print was marketed by the printseller William Holland as ‘A large Portrait of Rachel Pringle of Barbadoes’ and for the high price of 7 shillings and sixpence.
Inscribed in the plate: E D delin / London 1796 Published by William Holland No.50 Oxford Street / Rowlandson fecit