Philip Dawe
The Bostonians in Distress

Public Domain

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ArtistAttributed to Philip DaweEnglish, c. 1750–c. 1785

PublisherPublished by R. Sayer and J. BennettLondon, 1774/77–1784

CultureEnglish

Titles

The Bostonians in Distress

Date1774

PlaceLondon, England

MediumMezzotint with engraving and watercolor on laid paper

DimensionsSheet: 14 × 9 1/4 in. (35.6 × 23.5 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Texaco, Inc.

Object numberB.85.5

Not on view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

PRINTS

DescriptionIn retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, in the spring of 1774 the British Parliament enacted laws to punish Bostonians. Called the “Intolerable Acts,” they included closure of the port of Boston until the British Treasury received restitution for the tea colonists had destroyed. In this print, the citizens of Boston are depicted in a large cage hanging from the Liberty Tree while three figures in a boat pass to them fish for sustenance. Ships, soldiers, and cannons filling the scene are emblems of the blockade.
ProvenanceAcquired on March 19, 1985, from Ronald Bourgeault, Hampton, N.H.
Exhibition History"Theta Charity Antiques Show 1989," Houston, September 13–17, 1989.

"Radicals and Revolutionaries: America's Founding Fathers," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 10–May 28, 2018.

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