Blog > General > New James Gillray gravestone unveiled by George Osborne
New James Gillray gravestone unveiled by George Osborne
Posted on Wednesday 17th November 2021 by Tim
George Osborne unveiled a plaque in the forecourt of St James’s Church, Piccadilly to the legendary caricaturist James Gillray. Osborne – in his capacity as chairman of the British Museum – told the assembled crowds of his love of the great British tradition of print cartoons, remarking:
“As a teenager I used to go to Camden Passage to the antique shops there to try and get hold of some Gillray prints. The very first one I ever bought was called 'A Merry Dance', and it was all about a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberals. Of course that was all consigned to history back in those days... There's a basic truth about politicians which is that you’d much rather have a cartoon about you than not have a cartoon about you. However gross or hideous or unpleasant the cartoon is, it’s better to be drawn than not drawn. I also used to take the view that there are only really two types of cartoons – you’re either being killed or you are killing, and it was better to do the latter than the former.”
![George Osborne unveils the new Gillray Gravestone 79B8440B-8DD8-487A-A082-6B90325DDD13.jpeg](/media/filer_public/2021/11/17/79b8440b-8dd8-487a-a082-6b90325ddd13.jpeg)
![The new gravestone C1DD6F61-FCD3-439D-9AFC-A6A4BFE3275E.jpeg](/media/filer_public/2021/11/17/c1dd6f61-fcd3-439d-9afc-a6a4bfe3275e.jpeg)
![Peter Schrank's tribute to the Gillray Gravestone C3C9B0DD-2893-4E8F-9A0B-204B678F9B33.jpeg](/media/filer_public/2021/11/17/c3c9b0dd-2893-4e8f-9a0b-204b678f9b33.jpeg)
![More photos of the unvieling ceremony C8241DEA-1B62-4423-B957-823A4CDD6E72.jpeg](/media/filer_public/2021/11/17/c8241dea-1b62-4423-b957-823a4cdd6e72.jpeg)