This drawing forms part of a design
by Hogarth for a tombstone for the famous boxer and prize-fighter, George Taylor. Nick-named "Taylor the Barber" because of his other profession,
he became Champion of England
in 1734. From the early 1730s Taylor
was proprietor of the Tottenham Court Boxing Booth. He also ran an academy where gentlemen were taught the art
of self-defence. Taylor, who clearly had
a fine physique, may also have modelled at the St. Martin"s Lane Academy, where Hogarth himself taught.
Gallery label, September 2004
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