Joseph Wright of Derby and the 'Dawn of Taste' in Liverpool (Yale Center for British Art) - Hardcover

Barker, Elizabeth E; Kidson, Alex

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300117450 ISBN 13: 9780300117455

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2007

Synopsis

In 1768 Joseph Wright left his native city of Derby and moved to Liverpool in search of recognition and success. Earlier the same year he had exhibited the masterly Experiment on a Bird in the Air-Pump to great acclaim in London, but he failed to sell the picture, and he would shortly be excluded from the Royal Academy. Liverpool offered him the opportunity to engage with wealthy clients who had little experience of art patronage. Wright painted portraits of the prosperous merchants and their families, and continued to develop the brilliantly illuminated subject paintings on which his reputation chiefly rests. This beautifully illustrated book examines Wright's remarkable impact on the artistic climate of the city of Liverpool, on its cultural institutions and on the other artists working there.

About this title

About the Author:

Elizabeth E. Barker is Director of the Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University, New York. Alex Kidson is Curator of British paintings at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0300117450
• ISBN 13: 9780300117455
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288