Portrait of Joseph Wright of Derby

Joseph Wright of Derby Painting Reproductions 1 of 6

1734-1797

English Romanticism Painter

Joseph Wright (September 3, 1734 - August 29, 1797), styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter.
He was born in Derby, the son of an attorney, who was afterwards town-clerk. Deciding to become a painter, he went to London in 1751 and for two years studied under Thomas Hudson, the master of Joshua Reynolds. After painting portraits for a while at Derby, he again placed himself for fifteen months under his former master. He then settled in Derby, and varied his work in portraiture by the production of the subjects seen under artificial light with which his name is chiefly associated, and by landscape painting.
He married in 1773, and in the end of that year he visited Italy, where he remained till 1775. While at Naples he witnessed an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which formed the subject of many of his subsequent pictures. On his return from Italy he established himself at Bath as a portrait-painter; but meeting with little encouragement he returned to Derby, where he spent the rest of his life.
He was a frequent contributor to the exhibitions of the Society of Artists, and to those of the Royal Academy, of which he was elected an associate in 1781 and a full member in 1784. He, however, declined the latter honour on account of a slight which he believed that he had received, and severed his official connection with the Academy, though he continued to contribute to the exhibitions from 1783 till 1794.
Wright's portraits are frequently defective in drawing, and without quality or variety of handling, while their flesh tints are often hard. He is seen at his best in his subjects of artificial light, of which the Orrery (1766), the property of the Corporation of Derby (now Derby City Council), and An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768), in the National Gallery, are excellent examples. His Old Man and Death (1774) is also a striking and individual production. An exhibition of Wright's works was brought together at Derby in 1883, and twelve of his pictures were shown in the winter exhibition of the Royal Academy in 1886.

125 Wright of Derby Paintings

A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery, 1766 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

A Philosopher giving that Lecture on the Orrery 1766

Oil Painting
$3698
Canvas Print
$53.41
SKU: WOD-4150
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 147.2 x 203.2 cm
Museum and Art Gallery, Derby, United Kingdom

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, 1768 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump 1768

Oil Painting
$4924
Canvas Print
$56.05
SKU: WOD-4151
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 183 x 244 cm
National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Two Girls Dressing a Kitten by Candlelight, c.1768/70 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Two Girls Dressing a Kitten by Candlelight c.1768/70

Oil Painting
$1603
Canvas Print
$57.56
SKU: WOD-4152
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 90.8 x 72.4 cm
Kenwood House (The Iveagh Bequest), London, United Kingdom

A Girl reading a Letter with an Old Man, c.1767/70 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

A Girl reading a Letter with an Old Man c.1767/70

Oil Painting
$1727
SKU: WOD-4153
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 91.5 x 71.2 cm
Private Collection

A Girl reading a Letter by Candlelight with a Young Man, c.1760/62 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

A Girl reading a Letter by Candlelight with a Young Man c.1760/62

Oil Painting
$1579
SKU: WOD-4154
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 89 x 69.8 cm
Private Collection

Portrait of William Brooke, 1760 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of William Brooke 1760

Oil Painting
$2071
SKU: WOD-4267
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Anne or Molly Cracroft, c.1760 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Anne or Molly Cracroft c.1760

Oil Painting
$2238
SKU: WOD-4268
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Francis Noel Clarke Mundy, c.1762/63 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Francis Noel Clarke Mundy c.1762/63

Oil Painting
$2130
SKU: WOD-4269
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Harry Peckham, c.1762/63 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Harry Peckham c.1762/63

Oil Painting
$2092
SKU: WOD-4270
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Nicholas Heath, c.1762/63 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Nicholas Heath c.1762/63

Oil Painting
$2149
SKU: WOD-4271
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Edward Becher Leacroft, c.1763 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Edward Becher Leacroft c.1763

Oil Painting
$2130
Canvas Print
$60.47
SKU: WOD-4272
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 127.2 x 101.6 cm
Stanford University Museum of Art, California, USA

Portrait of Mrs Wilmot in Riding Dress, c.1762/63 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Mrs Wilmot in Riding Dress c.1762/63

Oil Painting
$2219
SKU: WOD-4273
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of James and Mary Shuttleworth with one of their Daughters, c.1764 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of James and Mary Shuttleworth with one ... c.1764

Oil Painting
$2899
SKU: WOD-4274
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Simon Wilmot, c.1760 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Simon Wilmot c.1760

Oil Painting
$1322
SKU: WOD-4275
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Harvey Wilmot, c.1760 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Harvey Wilmot c.1760

Oil Painting
$1322
SKU: WOD-4276
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Mr and Mrs William Chase, 1760 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Mr and Mrs William Chase 1760

Oil Painting
$3087
SKU: WOD-4277
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Two Boys Fighting over a Bladder, c.1767/70 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Two Boys Fighting over a Bladder c.1767/70

Oil Painting
$1517
SKU: WOD-4278
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Samuel Rastall, c.1762/64 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Samuel Rastall c.1762/64

Oil Painting
$1424
SKU: WOD-4279
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of William Rastall, c.1762/64 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of William Rastall c.1762/64

Oil Painting
$1179
Canvas Print
$63.52
SKU: WOD-4280
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 76.2 x 63.6 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, USA

Three Persons Viewing the Gladiator by Candle Light, 1765 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Three Persons Viewing the Gladiator by Candle Light 1765

Oil Painting
$2071
Canvas Print
$62.68
SKU: WOD-4281
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 101.6 x 122 cm
Private Collection

An Academy by Lamplight, 1769 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

An Academy by Lamplight 1769

Oil Painting
$2514
Canvas Print
$60.33
SKU: WOD-4282
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 127 x 101 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

A Conversation of Girls (Two Girls with their Black Servant), 1770 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

A Conversation of Girls (Two Girls with their ... 1770

Oil Painting
$1895
SKU: WOD-4283
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Mrs John Ashton, c.1769 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Mrs John Ashton c.1769

Oil Painting
$2303
SKU: WOD-4284
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Portrait of Mrs Sarah Clayton, c.1769 by Wright of Derby | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Mrs Sarah Clayton c.1769

Oil Painting
$2322
SKU: WOD-4285
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Fitchburg Art Museum, Massachusetts, USA

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