Two Pats in a wheelbarrow taken near the Bank, Lothbury

In this drawing by the satirical artist John Nixon, two Irish labourers (or 'pats') are shown resting on a wheelbarrow. As both look directly out towards the viewer, one is depicted twiddling his thumbs and smoking a pipe. To the right are paving cobbles, suggesting that the pair are taking a break from cobble-laying.

During the 19th century, London's developing transport infrastructure required a large workforce to install and service it. A number of Irish immigrants found employment as labourers doing the kind of work depicted here.

Nixon was a London merchant who also worked as an amateur painter, illustrator and caricaturist. He specialised in social and personal satires and occasionally tackled political subjects, such as the French Revolution. Nixon made frequent sketching tours during the course of his career, including a visit to Ireland in 1791.