Sir Joshua Reynolds was an English painter who specialised in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting, which depended on idealisation of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts and was knighted by George III in 1769.
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century. He painted quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterised by a light palette and easy strokes. Despite being a prolific portrait painter, Gainsborough gained greater satisfaction from his landscapes. He is credited as the originator of the 18th-century British landscape school. Gainsborough was a founding member of the Royal Academy.
John Constable was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home – now known as "Constable Country" – which he invested with an intensity of affection. "I should paint my own places best", he wrote to his friend John Fisher in 1821, "painting is but another word for feeling".
George Stubbs was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Reynolds and Gainsborough. Stubbs' output includes history paintings, but his greatest skill was in painting animals, perhaps influenced by his love and study of anatomy. His series of paintings on the theme of a lion attacking a horse are early and significant examples of the Romantic movement that emerged in the late 18th century. He enjoyed royal patronage. His painting Whistlejacket hangs in the National Gallery, London.
Benjamin West was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as The Death of Nelson, The Death of General Wolfe, the Treaty of Paris, and Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky.
Richard Parkes Bonington was an English Romantic landscape painter, who moved to France at the age of 14 and can also be considered as a French artist, and an intermediary bringing aspects of English style to France. Becoming, after his early death, one of the most influential British artists of his time, the facility of his style was inspired by the old masters, yet was entirely modern in its application. His landscapes were mostly of coastal scenes, with a low horizon and large sky, showing a brilliant handling of light and atmosphere. He also painted small historical cabinet paintings in a freely-handled version of the troubadour style.
The Cornfield is an oil painting by the English artist John Constable, completed from January to March 1826 in the artist’s studio. The painting shows a lane leading from East Bergholt toward Dedham, Essex, and depicts a young shepherd boy drinking from a pool in the heat of summer. The location is along Fen Lane, which the artist knew well. Constable referred to the piece as The Drinking Boy.
The Art of the United Kingdom refers to all forms of visual art in or associated with the United Kingdom since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and encompasses English art, Scottish art, Welsh art and Irish art, and forms part of Western art history. During the 18th century, Britain began to reclaim the leading place England had previously played in European art during the Middle Ages, being especially strong in portraiture and landscape art.
George Barret Sr. was an Irish landscape artist known for his oil paintings and watercolours. He left Ireland in 1762 to establish himself as an artist in London and quickly gained recognition to become a leading artist of the period. He exhibited at the Society of Artists of Great Britain and was able to gain patronage from many leading art collectors. Barrett with other leading members left the Society in 1768 to found the Royal Academy, where he continued to exhibit until 1782.
Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows was painted by John Constable in 1831, three years after the death of his wife, Maria. It is currently on display in London, at Tate Britain, in the Clore gallery. He later added nine lines from The Seasons by the eighteenth-century poet James Thomson that reveal the painting's meaning: that the rainbow is a symbol of hope after a storm that follows on the death of the young Amelia in the arms of her lover Celadon. Constable exhibited this painting at the Royal Academy in 1831, but continued working on it during 1833 and 1834. The art historians Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams have described the painting as the climax of his artistic career.
Portrait of Mai (Omai) (also known as Portrait of Omai, Omai of the Friendly Isles or simply Omai) is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Omai, a Polynesian visitor to England, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, completed about 1776.
Wivenhoe Park is a painting of an English landscape park, the estate of the Rebow family, by the English Romantic painter, John Constable (1776–1837).
Stratford Mill is an 1820 oil on canvas painting by the British landscape artist John Constable. It is the second painting in the series of six-footers depicting working scenes on the River Stour, a series that includes The Hay Wain. The painting is now in the collection of the National Gallery in London.
Branch Hill Pond, Hampstead Heath is a landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. Painted between 1824 and 1825 it depicts the view from Branch Hill in Hampstead. Constable had lived in Hampstead, then beyond the outskirts of London, since 1819 and painted many views of the area. It was sold in 1825 to the collector Francis Darby. The painting shows some carts in the foreground as well as Branch Hill Pond. In the background are the fields around Harrow and the villages of Kilburn and Hendon. In the extreme distance is Windsor Castle.
A View of Walton Bridge is a 1754 landscape painting by the Italian artist Canaletto depicting the construction of a new bridge at Walton, Surrey on the Thames southwest of London, now known as Old Walton Bridge.
Chain Pier, Brighton is a landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. One of his "six footers", it was exhibited at the Royal Academy's 1827 Summer Exhibition. It depicts the recently-constructed Brighton Chain Pier in the resort town of Brighton on the southern coast of England. The Pier was opened in 1823 and remained a prominent feature of the Brighton seafront until it collapsed in 1896.
Cenotaph to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds is an 1836 landscape painting by the English artist John Constable. One of his later works, it depicts a scene in the grounds of the country estate Coleorton Hall in Leicestershire. Formerly the property of the landowner and artistic patron Sir George Beaumont before his death in 1827, it features a monument commemorating the life of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first President of the Royal Academy. The monument was erected in 1812. The artist visited the property in 1823, when he did pencil sketches before developing it into a grander work more than a decade later. Constable shows it amongst the woodland of the estate, with a stag prominently featured. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition at Somerset House the same year. Since 1888 it has been in the collection of the National Gallery.
Arundel Mill and Castle is an 1837 landscape painting by the English artist John Constable. Produced the year of his death, it depicts a scene on the River Arun in Sussex. In the foreground is a mill, while Arundel Castle is shown in the distance. Today it is in the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio, described as Constable's last painting. Constable had viewed the scene while visiting George Constable, a friend and brewer. He was working on the painting in 1836, but shelved it to complete Cenotaph to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds in time for that year's Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. He resumed work on it the following year but died before its completion. His friend Charles Robert Leslie felt it was far enough advanced to exhibit posthumously at that year's Royal Academy Exhibition. Leslie believed that the scene had reminded Constable of the Stour Valley in his native Suffolk.
Stour Valley and Dedham Church is a landscape painting by the British artist John Constable. Like many of his works it features a scene of the River Stour in his native Suffolk close to the border with Essex. In the distance is the church at Dedham. In the foreground farmworkers are loading a cart.
Parham Mill is an 1826 landscape painting by the English artist John Constable. It portrays a view of the Parham watermill in Gillingham, Dorset. In 1823 Constable was staying with his friend John Fisher, nephew of the Bishop of Salisbury, who suggested he should paint it. Constable was attracted to the mill which he called "wonderfull old & romantic".
