The Exhibition Age 1760–1815

Angelica Kauffman, Portrait of a Lady  c.1775

Angelica Kauffman was hugely successful – by the 1770s, her work was so popular that one contemporary quipped, ‘the whole World is Angelica-mad’. In portraits like this, Kauffman helped establish and promote an image of feminine creativity and intellect. While we do not know the sitter’s identity, the writing instruments she holds emphasise her learning, perhaps even signalling literary ambitions. The book and statue of Minerva (the Roman goddess of wisdom) on the table, further underline this. Dressed in classicising robes, she looks confidently out at the viewer. Such images also reflect the strong network of women – patrons, fellow artists, intellectuals, and professionals – that Kauffman relied upon throughout her career.

Gallery label, February 2024

Richard Westall, The Reconciliation of Helen and Paris after his Defeat by Menelaus  exhibited 1805

This painting is inspired by Greek legend: Helen was married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. Her affair with the Trojan prince, Paris, led to the Trojan War. Richard Westall painted this scene for Thomas Hope, a wealthy collector. His London home had rooms designed and furnished in the different styles of the ancient world – Egypt, India, Greece and Rome. Westall modelled the figure of Helen on a Greek statue in Hope’s collection. In the 1790s Westall’s Royal Academy exhibits were the talk of the town. His flashy paint effects divided opinion, however, and many thought his work was too stylised and unnatural.

Gallery label, February 2024

Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Henry Bate-Dudley, Bart.  c.1780

The Reverend Henry Bate-Dudley was one of London’s most notorious newspaper editors. He first rose to fame through his journalistic writing in the Morning Post, before establishing the best-selling paper, the Morning Herald in 1780, which was renowned for its social gossip and political attacks. Thomas Gainsborough was close friends with Bate-Dudley. Here, Gainsborough conveys Bate-Dudley’s self-assurance and perhaps his loyalty through including his adoring dog. For Gainsborough, their friendship guaranteed he was championed in the press. Such public support was invaluable in the competitive art world. That Bate-Dudley divided public opinion, however, is apparent in one critic’s pun about this portrait, remarking that ‘the man wanted execution’.

Gallery label, February 2024

Sir Joshua Reynolds, Three Ladies Adorning a Term of Hymen  1773

Joshua Reynolds paints the aristocratic Montgomery sisters, Barbara, Elizabeth and Anne, decorating a classical sculpture with flowers. Their poses associate them with the mythological Graces, personifying charm, grace and beauty. This emphasises the sisters’ beauty and elegance and may also playfully allude to their fame as ‘The Irish Graces’. By including the statue of Hymen, the Greek god of marriage and fertility, Reynolds also celebrates their desirability for marriage. Reynolds exhibited this painting in 1774. It exemplifies his ‘grand style’ of portraiture, which drew inspiration from classical and Renaissance art, and favoured idealised elements rather than current or specific fashions. The painting prompted one art critic to praise Reynolds’ ‘great Richness of Imagination’.

Gallery label, February 2024

Sir David Wilkie, The Blind Fiddler  1806

David Wilkie suggests the emotional power of music here. He expresses the different reactions to the blind fiddler’s music – one young boy even pretends to play the fire bellows. This was only the second painting Wilkie exhibited publicly and it confirmed his reputation as a rising new star. A large crowd gathered around the picture when it was displayed at the Royal Academy. Exhibition-goers admired his observational skills, his characterisation, and his sympathetic view of everyday domestic life. It was hung next to JMW Turner’s A Country Blacksmith, which had a similarly subject and muted colours. Many contemporaries believed Turner was sparring with the younger artist.

Gallery label, February 2024

Sir Joshua Reynolds, The Age of Innocence  ?1788

The identity of Joshua Reynolds’s young model is uncertain. It is perhaps Reynold’s great-niece Theophila Gwatkin, a Miss Anne Fletcher, or a Lady Anne Spencer (the youngest daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough). This painting is an example of a ‘fancy’ picture, a type of 18th century painting showing figures, particularly children, playing out various roles. It was painted over one of Reynolds’s existing paintings, titled A Strawberry Girl. He altered all elements of the girl’s figure except for her hands. The Age of Innocence was one of Reynolds’s most popular images – more than 323 full-scale copies were made of it between 1856 and 1893.

Gallery label, October 2023

Sir David Wilkie, The Bag-Piper  1813, exhibited 1813

David Wilkie had already made his name in the London art world when he painted this small picture. It shows a bagpiper seemingly lost in thought, his fingers poised to play. One early biographer claimed this subject had been in Wilkie’s mind since boyhood and includes the old kirk (church) of his hometown, Cults, in the distance. While this is debatable, the explicitly Scottish subject is unusual in Wilkie’s work at this time. He exhibited this painting at the British Institution in 1813. While this may reflect his hope to raise the status of Scottish art, The Bag-Piper also appealed to a romanticised image of Scotland.

Gallery label, February 2024

George Romney, A Lady in a Brown Dress: ‘The Parson’s Daughter’  c.1785

George Romney was one of London’s most fashionable portraitists. He was particularly admired for the charm and simplicity of his female portraits. He chose not to exhibit his works publicly after 1772, instead relying on word of mouth for private commissions. Romney became known for his virtuoso ‘performances’ at sittings, quickly painting the sitters’ likeness directly onto the canvas. This painting demonstrates the artist’s loose, expressive brushwork. We do not know the identity of the sitter, but later, in the second half of the 19th century the work became widely known as ‘The Parson’s Daughter’.

Gallery label, February 2024

Thomas Stothard, Nymphs Discover the Narcissus  exhibited 1793

Thomas Stothard depicts a scene here from the Roman poet Ovid’s mythological narrative, Metamorphoses. The boy Narcissus, obsessed with his own reflection in the water, wastes away and turns into a flower. Here a group of nymphs discover the flower growing on the riverbank. The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793. Stothard’s steadiest form of income was book illustration, but his reputation as a history painter was beginning to grow in the 1790s. It was on this basis that he was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1794.

Gallery label, October 2023

Henry Robert Morland, A Laundry Maid Ironing  c.1765–82

This painting of a maid ironing is typical for Morland, who specialised in such ‘fancy pictures’ - subjects drawn from everyday life but with imaginative elements. He repeatedly painted and exhibited idealised pictures of young women in working-class roles, as ballad singers, oyster sellers and laundry maids. Here, the woman is shown passively gazing down, serene as she works, her tools and appearance pristine. There is little indication of her individuality, or of the real hardship of such domestic labour. Instead, she represents a contrived ‘type’, made attractive for contemporary middle and upper-class viewers and saleable for the print market.

Gallery label, June 2022

Thomas Whitcombe, The Battle of Camperdown  1798

This painting shows the naval battle that took place on 11 October 1797 near Camperduin, off the coast of North-Holland in the Netherlands. Whitcombe depicts the dramatic moments shortly after the British ship Venerable fired at its Dutch opponent Vrijheid. Just behind Venerable, to the right, is the Dutch ship Alkmaar in flames. The battle resulted in a resounding victory for the British fleet midway through the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802). Thomas Whitcombe specialised in maritime pictures, including of naval battles. Images like this, celebrating Britain’s naval power and victories, helped create a sense of national identity.

Gallery label, October 2023

John Hoppner, A Gale of Wind  c.1794

John Hoppner was one of the leading portraitists of his day. When he exhibited this painting at the Royal Academy in 1794, it would have stood out to exhibition-goers as a highly unusual subject for the artist. Indeed, this is the only work Hoppner is known to have exhibited that wasn’t a portrait. We think the stormy seascape is set just off St Catherine’s Point in the Isle of Wight, an area known for its dangerous waters. The painting gave Hoppner an opportunity to show off his expressive brushwork and his ability to convey drama and narrative. Capturing a sense of the artistic competition of the time, one critic remarked: ‘The present aggression is incontestably bold, and well executed, and should be rewarded with a booty of reputation.’

Gallery label, February 2024

John Hoppner, Miss Harriet Cholmondeley  exhibited 1804

James Northcote, A Young Lady Playing the Harp  ?exhibited 1814

A Young Lady Playing the Harp ?exhibited 1814 is an oil painting by the English artist and author James Northcote. It depicts a young harpist wearing a white dress tied with a long green sash, with a string of red beads around her neck. The harpist gazes forward, both hands raised to pluck the strings. She is seated against a rural backdrop dominated by a large, dark tree on the right, which frames her compositionally. The backdrop on the left, seen through the strings of the harp, features a twilit sky over hills and a lake.

Philip James De Loutherbourg, A Distant Hail-Storm Coming On, and the March of Soldiers with their Baggage  1799

As the war against France continued during the 1790s, Philip James de Loutherbourg increasingly turned his attention to military and naval subjects. Rather than depicting a grand battle, here he emphasises the domestic impact of war. British soldiers march through the countryside, leaving tearful families behind. The dark clouds and stormy weather only increase the sombre, foreboding mood. When this painting was exhibited in 1799, one reviewer commented on its appeal to the viewer’s emotions, praising the ‘variety of beauties which cannot be easily described, but are felt by the connoisseur on the first view.’

Gallery label, February 2024

John Hoppner, Mrs Williams  c.1790

Little is known about the woman in this painting. She is thought to have been the wife of a Captain Williams. John Hoppner portrays her in her youth, possibly before her marriage. Hoppner was a skilled colourist, demonstrated in Mrs William’s rosy cheeks and the blue trimmings of her bonnet and blouse. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1780. While he was initially interested in landscape painting, Hoppner soon turned to portraiture which provided a steadier source of income. He achieved considerable success, receiving commissions from numerous aristocrats and members of the royal family.

Gallery label, October 2023

John Hill, Interior of the Carpenter’s Shop at Forty Hill, Enfield  ?exhibited 1813

John Hill shows the interior of a small joinery shop that likely belonged to him and his father Thomas. Various tools and stages of production are visible: an axe and saw for cutting the wood in the foreground, and a planer for shaping it in the background. The unglazed window in the far corner of the workshop is large enough for big pieces of wood to pass through. It also provides ventilation and light for the ‘master’ carpenter. He is distinguished from his assistants by his moleskin hat and dark jacket. John likely included himself in the picture, possibly as this master carpenter (although this figure might also be his father). John later described himself as an ‘entirely self-taught' painter. He exhibited this painting at the Royal Academy in 1813. Such representations of craftsmen at work are rare in British art of this period.

Gallery label, October 2023

Charles Reuben Ryley, Oscar Bringing Back Annir’s Daughter  1785

Scotland’s legendary past, as told by the ancient Gaelic bard, Ossian, inspired this painting. It shows the famed warrior Oscar (in red), returning triumphant from battle to Annir, the elderly King of Inis-Thona. Oscar's victory reunites the king with his daughter. Ossian’s epic poem was published in 1765 and inspired many artists and writers. Nearly 60 Ossian subjects were exhibited in London between 1771-1830, including five pictures by Charles Reuben Ryley. However, the authenticity of the poem was soon questioned. The publisher, James Macpherson, had, in fact, invented the saga by blending Gaelic mythology with other sources and his own writing.

Gallery label, February 2024

Francesco Zuccarelli, A Landscape with the Story of Cadmus Killing the Dragon  exhibited 1765

This painting illustrates the story of Cadmus, founder of the ancient city of Thebes, as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Cadmus is slaying the dragon that has killed his companions. They have died trying to collect spring water from the dragon’s cave, not knowing that it is sacred to the god Mars. Cadmus is protected by a lion-skin and armed with a javelin. The Italian painter Zuccarelli left Venice for London in 1752, his mythological landscapes popular with British patrons. In 1768 he was commissioned to produce works for George III, and was a founding member of The Royal Academy.

Gallery label, February 2016

Rev. Matthew William Peters, Lydia  c.1777

The explicit eroticism of this picture is unusual in 18th century British art. The semi-naked woman (identified as ‘Lydia’ in a print) gazes provocatively out at the viewer, one hand suggestively hidden. This subject proved popular, and Matthew William Peters painted several versions of it. He exhibited one of these at the Royal Academy in 1777, where it was met with as much amusement as outrage. One critic remarked, it ‘is a good picture, and makes every gentleman stand for some time’. After Peters was ordained as a priest, he reputedly expressed deep regret for painting such erotic subjects. Nonetheless, he was nicknamed the ‘reverend painter of Venuses’, jokingly associating his pictures of desirable women with the goddess of love and beauty.

Gallery label, October 2023

Sir Thomas Lawrence, Philadelphia Hannah, 1st Viscountess Cremorne  exhibited 1789

Lady Cremorne is shown standing confidently, gazing directly out at the viewer. This seems apt given her high social standing: she was lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte and her grandfather was William Penn, who established the British colonial settlement in Pennsylvania, America. Thomas Lawrence was only 19 when he painted this imposing portrait, and it was his first full-length painting. He included it among his exhibits at the Royal Academy in 1789, where it caught the press’s attention. Lawrence was heralded as the successor to the aging Joshua Reynolds. Soon after this, Lawrence painted Queen Charlotte, a prestigious commission perhaps suggested by Lady Cremorne herself.

Gallery label, February 2024

George Dawe, Naomi and her Daughters  exhibited 1804

This scene is from the Old Testament: Naomi, in the centre, encourages her two widowed daughters-in-law to return to their people rather than accompany her to Bethlehem. George Dawe shows the moment when Orpah (left) leaves weeping, but Ruth (right) clings to Naomi and refuses to go. This was the first painting Dawe exhibited at the Royal Academy. By demonstrating his ability to paint emotive and high-minded subjects, Dawe likely hoped the painting would help him stand out as a talented newcomer. The restrained colours, sculptural style and idealised figures were popular with painters at the time.

Gallery label, February 2024

Henry Monro, The Disgrace of Wolsey  exhibited 1814

Henry VIII stands commandingly on the left, handing papers to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. This signals Wolsey’s downfall – as the King’s chief adviser he failed to secure the annulment of Henry VIII’s first marriage, ultimately leading to his arrest for treason. While a historical subject, Henry Monro drew his inspiration from Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII. He worked on the painting over 5 months in late 1813, employing ‘Ben’ from the local workhouse to model as Wolsey. Monro had been an ambitious young artist, and when the painting was exhibited at the British Institution in 1814 after his early death in March that year, it secured Monro’s celebrity.

Gallery label, February 2024

Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas  exhibited 1766

This picture shows the meeting of the Trojan prince Aeneas and the Carthaginian queen Dido, from Virgil’s epic poem, the Aeneid. Aeneas was shipwrecked near Carthage after the sack of Troy. The goddess Venus made Dido fall in love with him and helped him to hide in her citadel. He watches Dido welcome his fellow Trojans and when she asks to see their ‘king’ the mist clears and Aeneas reveals his identity. Dance-Holland made this picture while he was in Rome and sent it to London to be exhibited as a way to advertise his imminent return to Britain.

Gallery label, February 2016

George Stubbs, Horse Frightened by a Lion  ?exhibited 1763

The dramatic theme of a lion attacking a horse preoccupied Stubbs for over thirty years. This painting comes from a series of four episodes in a terrifying attack on a passive horse. This is the first stage, as the horse scents the lion emerging from its cave and rises up in fright. The setting for this violent encounter is the harsh, rocky landscape of Creswell Crags in the Peak District. The area was then an inaccessible, wild region that fascinated Stubbs. The scenery makes a suitably romantic background for the ‘sublime’ drama of the scene.

Gallery label, February 2016

Richard Cosway, Portrait of a Gentleman, his Wife and Sister, in the Character of Fortitude introducing Hope as the Companion to Distress (‘The Witts Family Group’)  1770

Although principally a portrait miniaturist (see cabinet 2: The Portrait Miniature in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries), Richard Cosway also produced some larger-scale works in oil. This allegorical portrait was painted following the death of a young London linen draper, Broome Witts, in 1769. Witts is shown here in the role of Fortitude, introducing his sister Sarah in the guise of Hope (left) to his wife Elizabeth, depicted as Distress. This memorial image was presumably commissioned by one or both of these ladies.

Gallery label, August 2004

Sir Joshua Reynolds, Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney: The Archers  1769

This portrait depicts two young aristocrats. Dressed in quasi-historical clothing invented by the artist, they are mimicking a medieval or Renaissance hunt; the dead game they leave in their trail underlining their noble blood and aristocratic right to hunt. This painting celebrates their friendship by linking it to an imaginary chivalric past, when young lords pursued ‘manly’ activities together against a backdrop of ancient forest. The subjects are shown in perfect harmony – at one with each other and joint masters over nature.

Gallery label, February 2016

Francis Cotes, Portrait of a Lady  1768

This elegant and ornamental portrait

is a fine example of Cotes's style, which emphasises fashion rather than character. The sitter, whose identity is uncertain, sits on a garden bench in an artificial yet striking pose. Her gown and its lace are arranged decoratively about her, the pink and white colouring echoed by the foxgloves behind her, and the roses on the left. The portrait was painted in 1768, the same year as the foundation of the Royal Academy. Cotes was one of its founder members, which his prominent signature on the tree trunk, 'F Cotes RA px', proudly announces.

Gallery label, February 2010

William Parry, Portrait of John Parry Holding his Harp  1780–90

This portrait shows the celebrated Wesh musician John Parry, sensitively painted by his son William Parry. John Parry’s reputation as ‘the famous blind Harper’ is visualised here – he is shown with his eyes closed (as was conventional for blind sitters) and holding a Welsh triple harp. Rather than playing this instrument, John’s hands rest on top and he appears lost in thought. This may allude to his perception of the world through his other senses, like touch and sound. John’s deep contemplation also evokes the poetic, other-worldly nature of music, associating him with the popular, romantic image of the Welsh bard. This might be the portrait William Parry exhibited in 1787 as a posthumous tribute to his father.

Gallery label, October 2023

Henry Walton, A Girl Buying a Ballad  exhibited 1778

This painting shows a fashionable young woman approaching an old ballad-seller on the street, whose printed wares are pinned up behind him. Henry Walton exhibited this painting at the Royal Academy in 1778. He likely hoped this imaginative image of city life would appeal to exhibition-goers. But he may also have intended a political reading too. The two portrait prints on the right are recognisable as General William Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Howe. Their doubts about Britain’s war with Revolutionary America had recently led them to resign from military command. This was highly topical as the war was hugely controversial in Britain.

Gallery label, February 2024