Isaac Cruikshank (1764–1811) was a Scottish painter and caricaturist. He was born in
Edinburgh and spent most of his career in London. Cruikshank is known for his social and political
satire. His first known publications were etchings of Edinburgh "types", from 1784. He produced illustrations for books about the theatre, did the frontispiece for
Witticisms and Jests of Dr Johnson (1791), and illustrated
George Shaw's extensive
General Zoology (1800–1826). With
James Gillray, Cruikshank developed the figure of
John Bull, the nationalistic representation of a solid British yeoman. He died of alcohol poisoning at the age of fifty-five as a result of a drinking contest, of which he was declared the winner. This 1799 illustration by Cruikshank, titled "Indecency", depicts a woman urinating in the street and saying: "B[las]t you what are you stareing [
sic] at?"
Engraving credit: Isaac Cruikshank; restored by Lise Broer