Henry Liverseege (BRITISH 1803-1832), THE COBBLER OF THE WEEKLY REGISTER

Lot description

HENRY LIVERSEEGE (BRITISH 1803-1832) THE COBBLER OR THE WEEKLY REGISTEROil on canvasSigned and dated 1830 (lower centre)20.7 x 25.7cm (8 x 10 in.)Exhibited:British Institution 1830 - a larger versionEngraved:W.GillerHenry Liverseege's exhibited first at the Royal Manchester Institution, but by 1828 was exhibiting both at the Society of British Artists in London and at the Royal Academy, where he is said to have been greatly encouraged by Sir Thomas Lawrence. A few portraits are recorded, but genre scenes, both contemporary and historical, seem to have been his subjects of choice. His work found its way into a number of notable collections, including that of The Dukes of Devonshire at Chatsworth. In his obituaries he was described as The English Wilkie, comparing him to the great Scottish genre painter Sir David Wilkie.In this present painting Liverseege puts forward as a mildly humorous but perspicacious genre scene. He shows us a cobbler surrounded by the tools of his trade, his shutter open for business. He is seen straining his eyes to get to grips with the famous weekly publication of the time The Political Register. The Weekly Register as it was commonly known was a political publication published by the redoubtable William Cobbett (1763-1835), journalist and pamphleteer, best remembered today for his Rural Rides. It appeared almost every week from 1802 until Cobbett's death in 1835. Liverseege's picture must have hit a popular note at the time as we are here dealing with a slightly smaller version of the one he exhibited in the British Institution in 1830.