Posts in Category: English

Joseph Wright of Derby

On July 20, 2026 - 18th Century, English, september 3

Joseph Wright of Derby, September 3, 1734 – August 29, 1797, was an English painter of portraits, narrative scenes, and landscapes. Born and active for much of his life in Derby, he trained in London under the portrait painter Thomas Hudson from 1751 and returned for further instruction in 1756–1757. He also worked in Liverpool from 1768 to 1771 and travelled in Italy from 1773 to 1775.

Wright exhibited with the Society of Artists and the Royal Academy of Arts. He was associated with Derby’s scientific and industrial circle and with figures connected to the Lunar Society, although he was not a member of it. The printmaker William Pether reproduced several of Wright’s paintings as mezzotints, helping to circulate his work. William Tate was among his pupils.

Derby Museums holds the largest collection of Wright’s work, including paintings, drawings, prints, letters, and related archives. Other principal collections include the National Gallery, London; the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Tate; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

Arthur Rackham

On July 17, 2026 - 19th Century, 20th Century, English, september 19

Arthur Rackham, September 19, 1867 – September 6, 1939, was an English illustrator and painter born in London. He studied at the City of London School and the Lambeth School of Art.

Rackham worked as a book and magazine illustrator and became one of the best-known British illustrators of the early twentieth century. His illustrated books include Rip Van Winkle, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Rhinegold & the Valkyrie, and The Romance of King Arthur.

Rackham worked in pen and ink, watercolor, and book illustration. He died in Limpsfield, Surrey, in 1939.

Sir Godfrey Kneller

On June 30, 2026 - 17th Century, 18th Century, august 8, English

Sir Godfrey Kneller, August 8, 1646 – October 19, 1723, was a German-born painter who became the leading portraitist in England during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

He worked for the courts of Charles II, James II, William III, Mary II, and Queen Anne, and painted many of the major political, scientific, literary, and aristocratic figures of his period.

Kneller is best known for formal state portraits, court portraits, and the Kit-Cat Club series. He was knighted in 1692 and made a baronet in 1715.

Spencer Gore

On May 17, 2026 - 20th Century, English, may 26

Spencer Gore, English painter, May 26, 1878 – March 27, 1914

Edward Lear

On May 10, 2026 - 19th Century, English, may 12

Edward Lear, English artist and illustrator, May 12, 1812 – January 29, 1888

Paul Nash

On May 8, 2026 - 20th Century, English, may 11

Paul Nash, British painter May 11, 1889 – July 11, 1946

Sir George Clausen

On April 10, 2026 - 19th Century, 20th Century, april 18, English

Sir George Clausen, British artist, April 18, 1852 – November 22, 1944

John Hoppner

On April 3, 2026 - 18th Century, 19th Century, april 4, English

John Hoppner, English portrait painter, April 4, 1758 – January 23, 1810

William Dobson

On February 27, 2026 - 17th Century, English, march 4

William Dobson, English painter, March 4, 1611 - October 28, 1646

Frederick Catherwood

On February 17, 2026 - 19th Century, English, february 27

Frederick Catherwood, English artist, February 27, 1799 – September 27, 1854