Drawings

Humpty Dumpty

Type: Drawings(Opens in new tab)
Date: ca. 1900
Accession number: 000.94
Maker: Arthur Rackham(Opens in new tab) (British, 1867–1939)
Dimensions: sheet/ image: 5 1/8 x 5 1/2 in. (13 x 14 cm.) mat: 19 x 12 1/2 in. (48.3 x 31.8 cm.)
Medium: pen and watercolor
Credit: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Department: European Art
Find out more: View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)

Label text

This pen drawing demonstrates Rackham's great skill as a graphic artist. This illustration casts Humpty Dumpty as a balding gentleman in top-coat and slippers. With a few strokes of the pen to form his furrowed brow and downturned mouth, the artist indicates the unfortunate egg's uncomfortable position on top of the wall. In the background, the marching silhouettes of all the king's horses and all the king's men hint at the conclusion to the story.

Humpty Dumpty

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