| My Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Charles Robert Leslie |
| Year | 1831 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, genre painting |
| Dimensions | 82.5 cm× 57.1 cm(32.5 in× 22.5 in) |
| Location | Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
My Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman is an 1831 oil-on-canvas genre painting by the Anglo-American artist Charles Robert Leslie. [1] It is inspired by a scene from the Georgian era novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne. Captain Shandy looking in the eye of the Widow Wadman, who tries to stir his affections by pretending she has something in her eye. [2]
The work was displayed at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1831 at Somerset House. Acquired by the art collector John Sheepshanks who in 1857 donated it to the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. [3] One of Leslie's most celebrated works, he painted it a number of times. A smaller version by Leslie is now in the possession of Shandy Hall in North Yorkshire. It is believed the actor John Bannister, a friend of Leslie's, was the inspiration for Uncle Tony. [4]
