About this artwork
This print shows a group gathered at Gloucester Gate in Regent's Park, London. Strang depicted himself within the crowd - visible beyond the speaker’s raised arm wearing a cap - identifying himself as one of the working class. By the middle of the 1880s economic depression and poor working conditions were rife in industrial Britain. The Socialists, and other urban realist subjects of around this date, reflect Strang’s personal interest in contemporary social issues. As well as being a member of the Arts and Crafts Movement, he became Master of the Art Workers Guild, a co-operative committed to bringing about economic and social improvement through traditional workmanship and apprenticeships.
Updated before 2020
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artist:William Strang (1859 - 1921) Scottish
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title:Socialists
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date created:1891; re-worked 1913
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materials:Etching and drypoint on paper
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measurements:Plate mark: 25.20 x 30.40 cm
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object type:
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credit line:David Strang Gift 1955
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accession number:P 2333.238
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gallery:
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subject:
William Strang
William Strang
Born in Dumbarton, William Strang was briefly a clerk in the family shipbuilding firm before he entered the Slade School of Art in London in 1876. At the Slade he was deeply influenced by the teaching of Alphonse Legros, particularly the etching class which Legros instituted in 1877. The subject...