| Measuring Heights | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | William Powell Frith |
| Year | 1842 |
| Type | Oil on panel, genre painting |
| Dimensions | 22.8 cm× 30.5 cm(9.0 in× 12.0 in) |
| Location | Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
Measuring Heights is an 1842 genre painting by the British artist William Powell Frith. [1] [2] It depicts a scene from the 1766 novel The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith. Mrs Primrose compares the respective heights of her daughter Olivia and Squire Thornhill. [3] Depictions of popular scenes from literature enjoyed great success during the early Victorian era. A few years later William Mulready had a major hit with Choosing the Wedding Gown , inspired by the same novel. [4]
The picture was displayed at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1842 held at the National Gallery. [5] The painting is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, having been acquired in 1882. [6]
