British Attitudes Towards Polish Migrants and Workers in the 'Yellow Nineties'
Karolina Fedorcio
Ryerson University
2449
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A.S Hartrick and His Lamplighter
Born in Bangalore in 1864, Archibald Standish Hartrick was an illustrator and lithographer (Tate). He was known for his illustrations depicting working class individuals, one of such being published in the second volume of The Yellow Book in 1894. Hartrick’s Lamplighter portrays a working class male who is in the midst of doing his job. Although he plays an integral role in his society, he is disconnected from the “others” – who are seen in the background of the picture. Interestingly, in some ways Hartrick’s lamplighter mirrors Dowie’s Wladislaw. Dowie describes Wladislaw as wearing “old trousers,” “grey shirt,” “half-opened waistcoat” (Dowie 90), and “cap” (97). Hartrick’s lamplighter seems to wear the same attire. On a deeper level, the two men are alike in their dedication to work. Wladislaw’s mind was “utterly and entirely on his work” (96), and from his determined stance it can be inferred that the lamplighter was focused on his work as well. |
The Lamplighter
A.S Hartrick
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Although a seemingly neutral
picture, Hartrick’s lamplighter has been categorized as “realistic, but rather
Anarchistic looking” (Current News of the Fine Arts). This description is
interesting for it pairs
the working class with an idea of rebellion. The job of a lamplighter was an honorable one in Victorian England, for the people would be living in darkness
if it were not for the man with fire and gas. This was definitely not an occupation of a rebel.
One may wonder why the lamplighter is classified an anarchist. Hartrick pays a tribute to the hard working individuals who were responsible for illuminating the streets of England. His art shows a man who, although scowling from exhaustion, continues to do his job. Known for drawing Britain's working class (Tate), Hartrick deems a simple working man as worthy of being captured forever in the world of art.
Similarly, Dowie portrays an immigrant who pushes himself to focus on his work, even though “he lived upon bread alone … breaking bits off to nibble” (Dowie 102) so he would not starve. Despite such strength, Wladislaw is called “the most bestial of human abominations” (That Yellow Nuisance Again).
Despite the unsubstantiated stigma surrounding their subjects, Dowie and Hartrick succeed in showing the true grace of those less fortunate. Perhaps they hoped to change the prevailing perspectives by publishing their work in a periodical which was mainly consumed by the upper class English.
One may wonder why the lamplighter is classified an anarchist. Hartrick pays a tribute to the hard working individuals who were responsible for illuminating the streets of England. His art shows a man who, although scowling from exhaustion, continues to do his job. Known for drawing Britain's working class (Tate), Hartrick deems a simple working man as worthy of being captured forever in the world of art.
Similarly, Dowie portrays an immigrant who pushes himself to focus on his work, even though “he lived upon bread alone … breaking bits off to nibble” (Dowie 102) so he would not starve. Despite such strength, Wladislaw is called “the most bestial of human abominations” (That Yellow Nuisance Again).
Despite the unsubstantiated stigma surrounding their subjects, Dowie and Hartrick succeed in showing the true grace of those less fortunate. Perhaps they hoped to change the prevailing perspectives by publishing their work in a periodical which was mainly consumed by the upper class English.
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