A wife being sold at Smithfield Market, London Size:S: 40 x 30cm 'Joseph Curtis' Portrait of a

'Joseph Curtis' Portrait of a stern-looking man in coat and lace cuffs

The premises of a silk hat manufacturer are visible

'The Westminster canvass'

Surrounding the dock are fields with cattle grazing

A wife being sold at Smithfield Market, London Size:S: 40 x 30cm 'Joseph Curtis' Portrait of aA wife being sold at Smithfield Market, London, 1816. A woman stands with a rope round her neck, like an animal; Smithfield is a cattle market. A man presumably her husband holds the rope. Another man chucks her under the chin. People have assembled for the spectacle, and dogs and small boys enjoy the excitement. A publican stands outside his tavern in his apron to watch.