Robert Pollard and Robert Dodd after Edward Dayes

[Grosvenor Square] To the Right Honourable Earl Grosvenor &c This View of Grosvenor Square Is with the greatest respect inscribed by his Lordship's obedient & obliged servant Rob.t Pollard

21 x 17 inches

An aquatint engraving by Robert Pollard with the aquatinting completed by Robert Dodd; after the painting by Edward Dayes, printed in sepia ink and published in London in 1789.

Grosvenor Square was one of the consistently most fashionable areas of London throughout the eighteenth century, forming the centre piece of the 100 acre Grosvenor estate. It was built between 1725 and 1731 and, with the exception of Lincoln's Inn, is the largest square in London. The houses were large and the inhabitants amongst the most important people in the land with a predominance of aristocracy that lasted well into the C20th. Only two of the original houses survive and much of what can be seen today results from the large scale remodelling of the 1920's onwards. This engraving captures the square at the height of its Georgian splendour with fashionable carriages alongside street vendors and entertainers.