# The Mock Election

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{{Short description|1827 painting by Benjamin Robert Haydon}}
{{Infobox artwork
| image_file=Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846) - The Mock Election - RCIN 405824 - Royal Collection.jpg
| image_upright=1.5
| title=The Mock Election
| artist=[Benjamin Robert Haydon](/source/Benjamin_Robert_Haydon)
| year=1827
| type=[Oil on canvas](/source/Oil_painting), [genre painting](/source/genre_painting)
| height_metric=
| width_metric=
| height_imperial=57
| width_imperial=73
| metric_unit=cm
| imperial_unit=in
| museum=[Royal Collection](/source/Royal_Collection)
| city=[London](/source/London)
}}

'''''The Mock Election''''' is an oil on canvas [genre painting](/source/genre_painting) by the British [artist](/source/artist) [Benjamin Robert Haydon](/source/Benjamin_Robert_Haydon), from 1827.<ref>Dart p.217</ref> 

==History and description==
It was inspired by a [real-life event](/source/Mock_election_in_the_King's_Bench_Prison) that took place while Haydon was himself imprisoned at the [King's Bench Prison](/source/King's_Bench_Prison) in [Southwark](/source/Southwark) for [debt](/source/debt). 

The conditions at the prison were fairly lenient for the inmates while they attempted to clear their debts. As a joke, several of the prisoners decided to organise an election, imitating those of a [British general election](/source/British_general_election). They declared they would elect two [Members of Parliament](/source/Members_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) (the standard representation for a pre-[Reform Act](/source/Reform_Act_1832) English Borough). The constituency was dubbed the "Borough of Tenterden" after the [Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench](/source/Lord_Chief_Justice_of_the_King's_Bench) [Lord Tenterden](/source/Charles_Abbott%2C_1st_Baron_Tenterden).<ref>O'Keeffe p.259</ref> Three candidates stood for election, one of them [Robert Stanton](/source/Robert_Stanton_(merchant))  had  recently been a real Member of Parliament. Another was the [boxer](/source/boxing) Henry Josiah Holt. The election was presided over by an Irishman, Jonas Murphy, posing as the Lord High Sheriff.<ref>O'Keeffe p.260</ref><ref>[https://www.rct.uk/collection/405824/the-mock-election Royal Collection Trust]</ref> 

The painting was acquired by [George IV](/source/George_IV) for 500 [guineas](/source/guineas) and remains in the [Royal Collection](/source/Royal_Collection).<ref>[https://www.rct.uk/collection/405824/the-mock-election Royal Collection Trust]</ref> It was followed by a sequel ''[Chairing the Member](/source/Chairing_the_Member_(Haydon))'', depicting the aftermath of the mock election and the calling in of soldiers by the prison authorities to restore order.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Dart, Gregory. ''Metropolitan Art and Literature, 1810-1840: Cockney Adventures''. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
* O'Keeffe, Paul. ''A Genius for Failure: The life of Benjamin Robert Haydon''. Random House, 2011. 

{{Benjamin Robert Haydon}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mock Election, The}}
Category:Paintings by Benjamin Robert Haydon
Category:1827 paintings
Category:Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom
Category:London in art
Category:Food and drink paintings

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Mock Election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mock_Election) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mock_Election?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.