Hogarth expressed ideas not by symbols but by ‘wit’, in this case a sort of visual pun. Mrs Garrick is tiptoeing up behind her husband, with the lightness of a professional dancer, to snatch away his pen. She looks like a smiling prankster but also like a comic Muse, guiding the author’s hand. Hogarth provides an intimate glimpse of one of the first media celebrities. Acquired by George IV Cat. 257