Irish Stew: Not All Hot – Rather Too Much So

Irish Stew: Not All Hot – Rather Too Much So

Mssrs. Fores

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This political satire published by Fores comments on political responses to the Irish Potato Famine. A man standing at left with a spoon (probably William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne, prime minister 1834-41) says "That's the Irish fashion, its reckoned an amendment," while others seated at a table near a huge basin labeled "Irish Stew à la Normande" say "The Taters want skinned and the Peel has nearly choked me," "There don't seem to be enough Lambs Head in it or it would be more palatable," and "This will nearly settle our Hash its so scalding hot." Sir Robert Peel was the leader of the Conservative Party in Parliament and became prime minister in 1841, and the dialogue references the rivalry between Peel and Melbourne (Lamb).


Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Irish Stew: Not All Hot – Rather Too Much SoIrish Stew: Not All Hot – Rather Too Much SoIrish Stew: Not All Hot – Rather Too Much SoIrish Stew: Not All Hot – Rather Too Much SoIrish Stew: Not All Hot – Rather Too Much So

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.