Dictionary portrait paintings britain /anglais - Hardcover

To appreciate the phenomenon one only has to attend a standard auction sale of British paintings where as many as a third of the items are portraits. Moreover there are galleries devoted exclusively to portraiture in London, Edinburgh and Dublin - an indication of an enthusiasm for the subject unmatched anywhere else in the world. This seemingly unquenchable thirst for portraits of individuals, families and friends has meant that for over four hundred years, native-born portrait artists have been joined by their foreign-born colleagues, attracted to these isles by the vast number of commissions available. Yet, ironically, most general art historical dictionaries give scant coverage to the many men and women who specialised in what is arguably the most difficult of all subject matter to paint. Attention has been focused on court painters and a favoured few, rarely if ever on the full spectrum of the profession with its wealth of talent. This dictionary redresses the balance. Listing over 5,000 por

This dictionary examines over 5000 British portrait artists providing biographical information. It combines information needed by collectors, dealers, museums, libraries and auction houses. Research has been gleaned from parish registers, monumental inscriptions, census returns, marriage licences, wills, dictionaries and contemporary accounts. Engravers of the artists' work are also listed to assist researchers idenitfy anonymous sitters and provide art historians with an indication of the contemporary availability of an artist's compositions. The illustrations have been carefully selected in order to show as many rarely seen unpublished works as possible.