'The Statue' in Leicester Square, on Wednesday Morning 17th October 1866 (pen & ink and...

The drawing depicts a the statue of George I in Leicester Square wearing a large pointed cap, holding a broom and covered in painted black polka dots on the George I's horse. The horse is also depicted with pointed horns over its ears. This is one of Griset's earliest surviving watercolours and depicts an incident reported in The Times on the 18th October 1866 of the vandalisation of the The Statue of King George the I in Leicester Square. Griset had witnessed the statue on his way to his bookshop in Leicester square on the 17th October 1866. In 1849 the Great Globe was erected which buried the statue of George I under 12 foot of earth with the globe stuck on top. The statue was subsequently uncovered following the globe's demise, but by 1866 it had deteriorated due to vandalism and was sold for £16.[