Lot 122: A Tigress

John Dixon (1740-1801), after George Stubbs
A Tigress
mezzotint on laid paper, fourth and final state, good impression with thread margins, published by J.Boydell, S.Hooper, T.Bradford, T.Burford and J.Dixon, London, 1773
P. 19 x 23in. (48.3 x 58.5cm.)

This mezzotint is based on the life-sized painting in the collection of the Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, which may have been the one exhibited at the Society of Arts in April 1773. The plate, which was the most highly praised engraved work after Stubbs in its day, was destroyed by fire, so impressions of it are rare. In 1800 Robert Laurie made a replacement, an example of which can be seen in Lot 123