
Joseph Wright of Derby Painting Reproductions Gallery 5 of 6
1734-1797
English Romantic 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.
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

Ullswater c.1795
Oil Painting
$1189
$1189
SKU: WOD-4376
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Old John, Head Waiter at the King's ... c.1780
Oil Painting
$1400
$1400
Canvas Print
$61.87
$61.87
SKU: WOD-4377
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 74 x 61.5 cm
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 74 x 61.5 cm
Private Collection

Portrait of Thomas and Joseph Pickford as Children c.1777/79
Oil Painting
$2411
$2411
SKU: WOD-4378
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

The Rev. D'Ewes Coke his Wife Hannah and Daniel ... c.1781/82
Oil Painting
$2947
$2947
Canvas Print
$62.96
$62.96
SKU: WOD-4379
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 152.4 x 177.8 cm
Museum and Art Gallery, Derby, United Kingdom
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 152.4 x 177.8 cm
Museum and Art Gallery, Derby, United Kingdom

Portrait of a Girl in a Tawny Coloured Dress c.1780
Oil Painting
$1821
$1821
SKU: WOD-4380
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Erasmus Darwin c.1770
Oil Painting
$1459
$1459
Canvas Print
$51.14
$51.14
SKU: WOD-4381
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 76 x 63.5 cm
Darwin College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 76 x 63.5 cm
Darwin College, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Portrait of Erasmus Darwin c.1792/93
Oil Painting
$1420
$1420
SKU: WOD-4382
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Rev. Thomas Gisborne and his Wife Mary 1786
Oil Painting
$2721
$2721
Canvas Print
$61.04
$61.04
SKU: WOD-4383
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 185.4 x 152.4 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 185.4 x 152.4 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

Portrait of Rev. John Pickering c.1777/80
Oil Painting
$1420
$1420
SKU: WOD-4384
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Self Portrait at the Age of about Fifty c.1782/85
Oil Painting
$1153
$1153
SKU: WOD-4385
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Portrait of a Lady undated
Oil Painting
$1189
$1189
SKU: WOD-4389
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Miss Theodora Fortune undated
Oil Painting
$1176
$1176
SKU: WOD-4390
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Portrait of Anne Bateman later Mrs John Gisborne 1755
Oil Painting
$1493
$1493
SKU: WOD-4391
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

George Washington Undated
Oil Painting
$1704
$1704
Canvas Print
$51.63
$51.63
SKU: WOD-5403
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: unknown
Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA

The Gulf of Salerno c.1783/85
Oil Painting
$1159
$1159
Canvas Print
$52.83
$52.83
SKU: WOD-7998
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 41.6 x 59.4 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 41.6 x 59.4 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, USA

A Grotto in the Gulf of Salerno, Sunset c.1780/81
Oil Painting
$1092
$1092
Canvas Print
$58.17
$58.17
SKU: WOD-17509
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 101.6 x 127 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 101.6 x 127 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

Portrait of a Man, Known as the Indian Captain c.1767
Oil Painting
$2006
$2006
Canvas Print
$49.67
$49.67
SKU: WOD-17510
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 229.2 x 138.4 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 229.2 x 138.4 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

Cottage on Fire at Night c.1785/93
Oil Painting
$1379
$1379
Canvas Print
$53.24
$53.24
SKU: WOD-17511
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 56.5 x 80 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 56.5 x 80 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

The Prisoner c.1787/90
Oil Painting
$802
$802
Canvas Print
$49.67
$49.67
SKU: WOD-17512
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 40.6 x 47 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 40.6 x 47 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

Derwent Water with Skiddaw in the Distance c.1795/96
Oil Painting
$961
$961
Canvas Print
$52.42
$52.42
SKU: WOD-17513
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 56.5 x 80 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 56.5 x 80 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

Dovedale 1786
Oil Painting
$1420
$1420
Canvas Print
$56.94
$56.94
SKU: WOD-17514
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 64 x 84.5 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 64 x 84.5 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

A Lake by Moonlight c.1780/82
Oil Painting
$1073
$1073
Canvas Print
$62.28
$62.28
SKU: WOD-17515
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 62.2 x 75.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 62.2 x 75.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus 1779
Oil Painting
$1547
$1547
Canvas Print
$60.36
$60.36
SKU: WOD-17516
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 101.8 x 127.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 101.8 x 127.6 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

William and Margaret from Percy's Reliques of ... c.1785
Oil Painting
$1564
$1564
Canvas Print
$64.61
$64.61
SKU: WOD-17517
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 122 x 139.7 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA
Joseph Wright of Derby
Original Size: 122 x 139.7 cm
Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA