Introduction

In James Malton’s 1790 engraved watercolour of St Stephen’s Green, all classes of Dublin’s human and animal inhabitants are depicted taking in the benefits of the open air. Various brightly coloured figures promenade through the park, greeting one another, selling flowers, or taking their dogs for an outing. A draughtsman by trade, Malton’s rendering of Dublin’s Georgian facades feature the detail he was noted for, although in this setting they are secondary to the fashionable individuals traversing the scene (...