A woman with two children sits beside a giant, crouching winged figure.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

Within a gap in a tall stone wall, a giant muscular figure with wings sits, holding his head down between his knees. His arms are at his sides, his wrists shackled. At right, a naked woman sits on a large fallen chunk of the wall with a sorrowful expression on her face. Much smaller by comparison, the top of her head is level only with his knee. A small child sits in her lap and looks up at her as she embraces it. Another small child, also naked, holds close to her side.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G4316
People
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
Title
Frontispiece for "America a Prophecy"
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: America a Prophecy
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1793
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/276207

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Color relief etching on off white wove paper
Technique
Relief etching
Dimensions
sheet cut to image: 23.3 x 16.8 cm (9 3/16 x 6 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Acquired in the late 19th century

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
B. 267; Bindman (1978) 146

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gray Collection of Engravings Fund
Object Number
G4316
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Publication History

  • Martin Myrone and Amy Concannon, William Blake, exh. cat., Tate Publishing (London, 2019), no. 43, repr., p. 210 (checklist)

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S426A (Large Niche) #1: The Past and the Present: British Art of the 19th Century, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 09/03/2010 - 11/20/2010
  • William Blake, Tate Britain, London, 09/11/2019 - 02/02/2020

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu