Edward Ebenezer Kay, 'Costs Disallowed'

Leslie Ward ('Spy') fixes the Court of Appeal judge Sir Edward Ebenezer Kay behind a vast mahogany bench, his white barrister's wig pressed low over a ruddy, heavy-jowled face, pince-nez perched perilously on his nose. An open volume lies before him; an ornate carved chair frames his bulk. The composition is pure courtroom authority rendered slightly ridiculous — Kay glowers downward with the weary severity of a man who has just ruled against everyone in the room. The caption, 'costs disallowed', is a barrister's nightmare: Kay was known for refusing costs to winning parties, a habit that made him feared and resented at the Chancery bar. No ethnic caricature is present; the satire is institutional and professional.