1734-97 English painter. He painted portraits, landscapes and subjects from literature, but his most original and enduringly celebrated works are a few which reflect the philosophical and technological preoccupations of the later 18th century and are characterized by striking effects of artificial light. He was the first major English painter to work outside the capital all his life: apart from spells in Liverpool (1768-71), Italy (1773-5) and Bath (1775-7), he lived and worked in his native Derby, though exhibiting in London at both the Society of Artists (1765-76, 1791) and the Royal Academy (1778-82, 1789-90, 1794).   Related Paintings of Joseph wright of derby :. | Lake Nemi at Sunset | Details of A Philosopher giving a Lecture on the Orrery | Cave at evening, by Joseph Wright, | Portrait of Mrs. Robert Gwillym | Academy by Lamplight |
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James Duffield Harding
English Painter, ca.1797-1863 English painter, engraver and writer. He received his first lessons in painting from his father, J. Harding (d 1846), who was a pupil of Paul Sandby. By 1807 the family had moved to Greenwich where Harding spent much of his time drawing and painting in Greenwich Park. In 1811 at the age of 14 he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy. He had lessons in watercolour painting from Samuel Prout and in 1816 he won the Society of Arts silver medal for landscape painting.
Nicolas de Largilliee
Largilliere's father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in London. Sometime after his return to Antwerp, a failed attempt at business led him to the studio of Goubeau. However, Largilliere left at the age of eighteen and went to England, where he was befriended and employed by Peter Lely for four years at Windsor, Berkshire. Painting careerEarly careerHis painting caught the attention of Charles II, who wished to retain Largilliere in his service, but the controversy aroused by the Rye House Plot against Roman Catholics alarmed Largilliere. Largilliere left for Paris, where he was well-received by the public as a painter. Upon ascending to the throne in 1685, James II requested Largilliere to return to England. James II offered Largilliere the office of keeper of the royal collections, but he declined due to being uneasy about Rye House Plot. However, during a short stay in London, he painted portraits of the king, the queen Mary of Modena, and the prince of Wales James Francis Edward Stuart. The portrait of the Prince of Wales could not have been painted during Largilliere's stay in London because the prince was not born until 1688. The three portraits painted by Largilliere of the prince in his youth must have been executed in Paris, where he returned sometime before March 1686. The portrait of King James II was painted in 1686. King James is portrayed in golden armor with a white cravat and is positioned in front of a watercolour-like background set in a round frame.
George Bellows
1882-1925 Growing prestige as a painter brought changes in his life and work. Though he continued his earlier themes, Bellows also began to receive portrait commissions, as well as social invitations, from New York's wealthy elite. Additionally, he followed Henri's lead and began to summer in Maine, painting seascapes on Monhegan and Matinicus islands. At the same time, the always socially conscious Bellows also associated with a group of radical artists and activists called "the Lyrical Left", who tended towards anarchism in their extreme advocacy of individual rights. He taught at the first Modern School in New York City (as did his mentor, Henri), and served on the editorial board of the socialist journal, The Masses, to which he contributed many drawings and prints beginning in 1911. However, he was often at odds with the other contributors because of his belief that artistic freedom should trump any ideological editorial policy. Bellows also notably dissented from this circle in his very public support of U.S. intervention in World War I. In 1918, he created a series of lithographs and paintings that graphically depicted the atrocities committed by Germany during its invasion of Belgium. Notable among these was The Germans Arrive, which was based on an actual account and gruesomely illustrated a German soldier restraining a Belgian teen whose hands had just been severed. However, his work was also highly critical of the domestic censorship and persecution of anti-war dissenters conducted by the U.S. government under the Espionage Act.