NEW YORK, NY.- Originally scheduled to take place last February, Lark Mason Associates announces that the Works by Thomas Rowlandson from an American Collector opens for bidding on iGavelAuctions.com, September 6th through 28thth. Over 500 lots of drawings, prints and books by the satirist comprise 70 lots. Rowlandson was celebrated for ushering in the golden age of British caricature art at the turn of the 19th century.

Rowlandson produced sardonic illustrations in ink and watercolor that skewered powerful political figures such as the Duchess of Devonshire, William Pitt the Younger and Napoleon Bonaparte and depicted contemporary events in a humorous robust and bawdy style. Rowlandson’s drawings of life in Georgian England exposed human foibles and vanity with sympathy and rollicking humor and he achieved success selling these prints and watercolors to wealthy collectors. However, for much of his life he was an inveterate gambler and had to produce a flood of his comic prints to stay ahead of financial losses.

Among the highlights are True Love, Older Man with a Younger Lady, Watercolor and Ink on Paper (Estimate: $10,000/15,000); Miseries of Travelling, Watercolor and Ink on Paper (Estimate: $10,000/15,000); Robbers Surrounding Mother and Child, Pen and Paper, and two related etchings (Estimate: $4,000/6,000); Caricature Magazine, Hand-colored Etchings Bound in Original Brown Printed Cover (Estimate: $1,500/2,500); and Six Hand-colored Etchings in Miseries Series (Estimate: $300/500).

“We are delighted to offer this recently discovered cache of satiric drawing and prints by the renowned caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson,” says Lark Mason. “Rolandson's drawings reflect many of the same issues we confront today–whether it’s sitting through a long boring dinner, observing an older gentleman with a younger woman or dealing with overcrowded public transportation–and underscores the adage ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’” According to Mason, the sale was delayed at the last minute because of some issues with the artist’s estate.

The drawings will be on view, by appointment only, at Lark Mason Associates, 229 East 127th Street, Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.