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HomeVanity Fair: Men of the DayMen of the Day: The Vanity Fair Caricatures › Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe — 'Smartness'
Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe — 'Smartness' by Leslie Ward
Public domain · digitally restored by ComicBooks.com
Men of the Day: The Vanity Fair Caricatures

Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe — 'Smartness'

Leslie Ward · Vanity Fair, 27 October 1883

Leslie Ward ('Spy') renders Major Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe in three-quarter profile, his hands tucked behind his back with studied nonchalance. The uniform is the thing: a dark military frock coat heavily braided across the chest in the hussar fashion, red-striped overalls, and polished boots — every detail of an officer who takes his turn-out seriously. The caption, 'Smartness,' is both compliment and gentle needle, implying that Dawnay's soldierly distinction lies more in appearance than in battlefield thunder. A viscountcy coronet floats in the upper corner, anchoring his aristocratic rank. Ward's caricature exaggerates the long nose and clipped moustache without malice — this is club-window satire aimed at a man already pleased with his own reflection.

About this artifact

Creator
Leslie Ward
Date
Vanity Fair, 27 October 1883
Rights
Public domain — free to view, share, and reuse.
Restoration
Digitally restored and hosted by ComicBooks.com.

Part of our mission to preserve and restore the public-domain heritage of the medium.