A Little Tighter [and] A Little Bigger

London: probably 1791 or after, 1791. Cf. Joseph Grego's Rowlandson the Caricaturist (London: Chatto and Windus, 1880), volume I, pages 292-93; additionally two sets of the aquatint prints of these images are recorded sold at auction (Anderson Galleries in 1920 and Dominic Winter in 2005). One frame is chipped and in need of minor restoration; overall in very good condition.. Oil on wood panels, in early or contemporary frames, approximately 39.5 x 37 cm each. Two oil paintings after caricatures by Thomas Rowlandson, depicting tailors comically struggling with their patrons. The caricatures were produced as a pair of aquatint prints, published by S. W. Flores, 3 Piccadilly, dated 18 May, 1791, and are described in Joseph Grego's Rowlandson the Caricaturist (London: Chatto and Windus, 1880), volume I, pages 292-93; additionally two sets of the aquatint prints are recorded sold at auction (Anderson Galleries in 1920 and Dominic Winter in 2005). Provenance: a manuscript label on the verso of A Little Tighter states that the paintings are from the collection of Dickson Q. Brown. A printed description adjacent to that describes the paintings, but adds no further information about the provenance. Brown (1873-1939) was a noted collector of graphic arts, particularly of British caricaturists of the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1928 he donated the majority of his collection (over 2800 works) to his alma mater, Princeton University, though he apparently continued his collecting until his death several years later. These two paintings were recently sold by Potter and Potter Auctions, Chicago, who stated in their catalogue description that "Each painting is titled in the artist's hand at the bottom of the image." When asked for further details about the provenance, Potter and Potter stated that their consignor had purchased the paintings at Sotheby's in the 1970s, without additional verification. Rowlandson was not known to work in oil, though caricaturists of his era and later did on occasion render their works in oil as well as print form, examples of which are usually rare. These two oil paintings are undoubtedly after caricatures by Rowlandson, but the question is: can it be substantiated that they are the work of Rowlandson.