The Toy-Seller (1857) by Irish artist William Mulready (1786–1863) is a masterful example of Victorian narrative painting, uniting psychological sensitivity with refined academic realism.
Set within a quiet woodland clearing, a travelling toy-seller offers a brightly coloured rattle to a child held protectively by its nurse. Mulready's command of gesture, expression, and chromatic harmony imbues the scene with emotional restraint and understated drama. The composition reflects his standing among the most accomplished genre painters of the nineteenth century.
About this work
The Toy-seller was painted by the Irish artist William Mulready (1786–1863), born in Ennis, County Clare, between 1857 and his death in 1863 — he left it unfinished. A seated woman holds a child who pulls back from a toy-seller offering a doll. Mulready was among the most admired painters in Victorian London and designed the first pictorial postal envelope. The original is oil on canvas, 112 × 142 cm, and hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI.387), purchased in 1891. This print is an open edition, made to order and shipped worldwide.
Sizes & Format
40 × 50 cm / 16 × 20″
Available framed (black, white, wood) or unframed
Print & Frame Details
Archival matte paper, 250gsm (110lb), acid-free and FSC-certified — off-white, uncoated. Framed prints: solid oak or ash wood frame, 20mm thick, with shatterproof protective glazing. Ready to hang, hanging kit included. Unframed prints up to A4 ship flat; larger sizes ship rolled in a protective tube.
Free Worldwide Shipping
Framed prints are packed with protective corners and wrap, boxed with reinforced edges, and braced with internal supports for extra rigidity (max 3 frames per package). Every order ships free, made to order and delivered from the hub closest to you: Ireland 3–7 business days · UK 4–8 · USA 5–10 · Canada 6–12 · Australia 7–14.
