Lot 113: - George Scharf , 1788-1860 Westminster Elections, Covent Garden watercolour over pencil heightened with gum arabic

signed l.r.: G. Scharf Fect / London / July. 1818; stamped l.l. with an unidentified collectors mark watercolour over pencil heightened with gum arabic

32.9 by 46 cm.; 13 by 18 1/8 in.

This highly detailed watercolour depicts an election rally at Covent Garden, during the run-up to the Westminster elections of July 1818. In that year there was a general election which saw the Tories, under the 2υnd Earl of Liverpool, win a decisive victory. The Westminster election was contested between Francis Burdett (1770-1844), who had held the seat since 1807, Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818) and two lesser known candidates by the names of Maxwell and Hunt. After the votes had been counted, Romilly was declared the victor. However, following the death of his wife in November 1818, he committed suicide. This tragedy resulted in Francis Burdett re-capturing the seat by the end of the year.

Scharf was born in Bavaria and spent the early part of his career as a miniature painter. He served in the British army at Waterloo and in 1816 settled in London.