David Garrick as the farmer and Lucretia Bradshaw as his wife in “The Farmer’s Return”

This depiction of Garrick and Bradshaw was the first theatrical painting by Johan Zoffany, commissioned by Garrick and painted in May 1762.

The scene depicted is the farmer who has returned from the coronation of George Ill in London. He regales his family with stories of the sights of London, including the famous Cock Lane ghost fraud. The apparent ghost was known to answer questions by “scratching and knocking once for ‘yes’, twice for ‘no’. The farmer then teases his wife by saying that the ghost knocked twice when he asked about her fidelity.

The Farmer’s Return from London was well received and performed several more times over the course of the theatrical season. The play was sometimes included at the end of an evening’s performance and on 25 January 1763 it followed The Two Gentlemen of Verona and preceded a comic dance called”The Flemish Feast” .

Provenance: Received from the Acceptance in lieu of inheritance tax by H.M.Government, Arts Council England, 2014.1.1/B.M

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: Johan Zoffany (1733-1810)
Date: 1762

Image Details
Date: 12 May 2024
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/25s
ISO: 500
Licensing: Image of a Bowes Museum asset. This image cannot be licensed.