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George Morland
English, 1763–1804
The Power of Justice
c. 1788
This painting shows a poor weaver being taken to debtor’s prison by an officer of the law. The weaver is leaving behind his distressed wife and two children, one of whom buries her face in her mother’s skirts. Morland was known for painting genre subjects, often with moralizing messages. Unable to keep his finances in order or his drinking under control, he was himself later arrested for debt. Like many of his paintings, this one was copied in print and widely circulated.
Image Caption
George Morland, The Power of Justice, c. 1788, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.820
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
18 9/16 x 14 3/16 in. (47.1 x 36.1 cm)
Object Number
1955.820
Acquisition
Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status
On View
Select Bibliography
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. Precht, Katherine. The Paintings of the English School at the Clark Art Institute. Honors thesis, Williams College, 1981. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992.