Suppose we turn this around to ask which artists or writers from out of the past would, out of all time up to the present, most want to be alive now. This is just another way of asking which figures, out of all those in our rivh cultural heritage, have remained most alive. Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) was roundly, resonantly alive. His art reveals an immense affirmation of life. And it is such a vitality, more than any other single quality, which suggests that - if he had his choice-Rowlandson might very well want to be one of us."