George Romney 1734-1802

"George Romney was one of the key figures in British art in the late eighteenth century. The main rival of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough - and for much of his career more fashionable than both - Romney as a portraitist helped create the Regency style with his mature brand of mannerism, elegance and informality. His chief ambition, however, was to succeed as a history painter and he made countless drawings for literary and mythological pictures that he never had time to paint. These drawings, executed with a boldness and freedom that have appealed to many artists in the later twentieth century, mark Romney as one of the first Romantics.". "This book marks the bicentenary of Romney's death and reflects a new stage in his popularity. One hundred years ago, collectors fought to obtain his portraits of fresh-faced women, especially those of Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, who in the mid-1780s became his favourite model and muse. As the more snobbish and sexist aspects of Edwardian taste became outdated, Romney's art fell spectacularly from favor. To this day, it has remained little understood in detail, and this book offers the first in-depth modern overview of his career.