Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4

Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4

James McArdell

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait of the famous actor and theater manager David Garrick in the role of Hamlet in Shakespeare's play. He stands three-quarter length with his hands outstretched and looking to right, wearing a velvet suit and white shirt with ruffled sleeves. The castle of Elsinore is shown behind at right. The print evokes a dramatic moment in Act 1 when the prince encounters the ghost of his murdered father.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4Mr. Garrick in Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 4

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.