Street Life: The “Cries” in British Visual Culture, 1711-1877 Exhibition on view through August 21

Open to the public Wednesdays 2-4:30 pm, other times by appointment

Guest Curator Gillian Forrester Independent art historian, curator, and writer

The exhibition explores the long-established genre of the “Cries,” or the representation of street vendors “crying” or broadcasting their wares. Celebrating both the visual and the acoustic aspects of urban life, and usually taking the form of prints, the “Cries” images showcased economic prosperity through representations of diverse occupations and products being sold in urban spaces.

Although the “Cries” genre encapsulated vendors with a wide range of wares, we are focusing on works depicting vendors of foodstuffs, and researching the kinds of produce, dairy products, fish, meat and baked goods that were sold on the streets of cities at this period. The exhibition investigates the proliferation of images of specific foods that had particular significance; one recurring trope is that of the milkmaid, an often-idealized figure that represented rural purity at a time when adulteration of milk was a major concern in Britain.