Paintings, Prints & Drawings — 1882
Behind the Bar
This watercolour, by John Henry Henshall, depicts the interior of a typical public house in late Victorian London. The bar is believed to be in Old Street or Caledonian Road. For London's working class the pub was often at the heart of the local community. As well as providing alcohol they also offered warmth, hot food, and an escape from wretched poverty and slum accommodation. Here the artist paints women and children at the bar, a sight that temperance societies, who campaigned against alcohol abuse, strongly disapproved of.
- Category:
- Paintings, Prints & Drawings
- Object ID:
- 82.582
- Object name:
- Behind the Bar
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- Henshall, John Henry
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1882
- Material:
paper, watercolour, gouache
- Measurements/duration:
- H 410 mm, W 727 mm (paper)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.