ComicBook Experience

From the exhibition

Mr Christopher W. Wilson

Leslie Ward · Leslie Ward ('Spy'), Vanity Fair, 10 January 1891. Chromolithograph. Yale Center for British Art, B1979.14.245.

Mr Christopher W. Wilson
Ward's plate presents Christopher Wyndham Wilson in three-quarter profile, hands tucked behind his back, body canted forward in the characteristic Spy posture that gently mocks a subject's self-importance. The striped trousers, black frock coat, bow tie, and gold watch-chain mark him as prosperous sporting gentry; the reddish mutton-chop beard and prominent belly are lightly exaggerated. The caption reads simply *Mr Christopher W. Wilson*. Wilson was a notable horse-trainer and owner of the period, and the caricature's visual argument is entirely social rather than political: here is a well-fed Englishman whose standing rests on the turf rather than Parliament, treated with Spy's customary mild affection for the comfortable classes rather than satirical bite.

Leslie Ward CC0