Charles Ashmore (British, 1851 – 1925) “Guy Fawkes Night”
Oil on Canvas 24 x 30 Inches
A beautiful large signed oil by the English genre painter Charles Ashmore who was born in Birmingham and exhibited in London at the Royal Academy and the British Institute and elsewhere. This work depicts the subject of a “penny for the guy” – the English tradition of making a “Guy” (a dummy of Guy Fawkes) on the 5th November each year and asking for money for the work.
Guy Fawkes plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and each year in England it is celebrated on the 5th November by a large bonfire and atop will sit a “Guy” as in a mock-up of Guy Fawkes. This will then be ceremoniously burnt accompanied by fireworks.
In this scene the children bring their “Guy” to the houses of the village to ask for the customary penny in compensation for their work.
