Country Dances Round a Maypole

One of the May Day customs that Francis Hayman illustrated was dancing round the May Pole. This custom still persists, although the days when it was a welcome sight on most village greens have long gone. The Puritans perceived it as an immoral activity and literally tried to cut down May Poles in many places. Nowadays May Pole dancing is regarded as a harmless activity for children, in the same tradition as Morris dancing. The painting's theme of pleasure was in keeping with the spirit of carnival at Spring Gardens in Vauxhall. Here, however, it is depicted with an emphasis on refinement rather than bawdiness.

People

Francis Hayman began as a scene painter, then turned to portraiture. His first major decorative commission consisted of these large paintings at Spring Gardens, Vauxhall. The commission came from Hayman's patron, the entrepreneur Jonathan Tyers (died 1767), who held the lease on Spring Gardens and was responsible for opening them to the public in 1732.