Returning from the Ale House

Returning from the Ale House is an 1809 genre painting by the Irish artist William Mulready ^[1] It shows a scene in an English village where two drunken men stagger home after a heavy session at the ale house. They toss coins to the village children while two dour schoolmasters look on.^[2] Mulready was a noted rival of the established leader of British genre scenes of the Regency era David Wilkie.^[3]

Returning from the Ale House
Artist	William Mulready
Year	1809
Type	Oil on canvas, genre painting
Dimensions	78.7 cm × 66 cm (31.0 in × 26 in)
Location	Tate Britain, London

The painting was first displayed at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition of 1809 at Somerset House where it was heavily criticised for its perceived celebration of drunkenness. Three decades later in 1839 Mulready retouched the painting, and sent it into the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1840 at the National Gallery under the new title Fair Time where it enjoyed a more favourable reception. It was acquired by the art collector Robert Vernon who donated it to the nation in 1847. Today it is in the collection of the Tate Britain in Pimlico.^[4]