Philip Dawe after Henry Morland

Lady's Maid Soaping Linen

19 x 24.5 inches

A black and white mezzotint engraving by Philip Dawe after the painting by Henry Moreland, published in London by Carington Bowles in 1770.

A charming and seductive depiction of a serving girl attending to her chores. This strong impression illustrates the subtlety of tone that can be achieved by mezzotint and is one from a series of female domestic studies undertaken by Philip Dawe in the 1770's. The models who posed for these domestic vignettes were often taken from the aristocratic classes or the London theatre.

Philip Dawe was the son of a city merchant whom, it is said, worked under William Hogarth. He produced engravings after Hogarth and other contemporaries in addition to prints after his own designs. He is considered to be very talented at his art and a highly skilled mezzotint engraver. It is thought that he died, in London, at the beginning of the nineteenth century.