A Country Blacksmith Disputing upon the Price of Iron, and the Price Charged to the Butcher for Shoeing his Poney
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: exhibited 1807
- Medium: Oil paint on mahogany
- Dimensions: support: 549 x 778 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “A Country Blacksmith Disputing upon the Price of Iron, and the Price Charged to the Butcher for Shoeing his Poney” by Joseph Mallord William Turner. Painted in oil on mahogany in 1807, it was displayed that year at the Royal Academy, right next to David Wilkie’s “Village Politicians.” Turner set out to show that he could capture everyday scenes with as much power as Wilkie, and the reaction was mixed. Some critics said Wilkie’s work was “flung into eclipse” by Turner’s, while others felt the blacksmith’s scene “killed” the surrounding pieces.
The subject itself – a blacksmith arguing over the cost of iron and the fee a butcher charges to shoe his pony – reflects the economic strain of the Napoleonic Wars. After 1806 the government imposed a pig‑iron tax to pay war debts, so trades had to raise prices, a reality Turner brought to the canvas. The painting was acquired by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest in 1856 and now rests on a mahogany support, measuring roughly 55 by 78 cm.
See it in person
A Country Blacksmith Disputing upon the Price of Iron, and the Price Charged to the Butcher for Shoeing his Poney is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
