Vauxhall Gardens, Thomas Rowlandson, ca. 1784
Thomas Rowlandson, portraitThomas RowlandsonBritish, 1756–1827

Vauxhall Gardens

ca. 1784 · Watercolour · 42 × 58.4 cm

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Not on view at present

Where is “Vauxhall Gardens” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

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About the work

Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) loved to depict high and low life in England at the time. Many of his drawings and watercolours are on a comical theme.

The Vauxhall gardens were a fashionable resort, just south of the Thames in London. Here visitors could eat, drink, dance, listen to music, take a stroll and enjoy the sculptures in the open air.

In this drawing it is possible to identify many well known people. They include Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), author of the famous ‘Dictionary’, the writers James Boswell (1740-1795), Mrs Thrale (1741-1821) and Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), and society figures - the Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806) and her sister Lady Duncannon; the Prince of Wales (1762-1830), who became king as George IV in 1820, and his mistress, the actress Mary ‘Perdita’ Robinson (1758-1800); and Admiral Paisley.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Details

Accession number
P.13-1967

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