- Museum number
- 2010.2.56
- Object
- Framed oil painting: A Theatrical Scene, possibly Jeffery Dunstan as Dr Last by Johan Zoffany (1733–1810), oil on canvas, c. 1782–3.
- Materials
- Oil
- On display?
- No
Further description
- Simple name
- Painting
- Subject
- Interior with Figures
- Dimensions
- framed: 6.5cm (d) x 72cm (h) x 56.4cm (w)
regular: 56.0cm (h) x 39cm (w)
A Theatrical Scene, possibly Jeffery Dunstan as Dr Last
Johan Zoffany (1733–1810)
Oil on canvas, about 1782–3
This curious conversation piece has recently been attributed to Zoffany. It may be a scene from a production of Dr Last in his Chariot that starred Jeffery Dunstan, a popular celebrity.
Dunstan (1759?–1797) was four feet tall and made his living selling old wigs. In 1785 he won a mock-election to become Mayor of Garrett, the traditional leader of a south London community. In this scene, the physician Last is offering ‘the juice of a simple yerb’ to a patient.
2010.2.56 The Somerset Maugham Collection, transferred from the National Theatre
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