Gainsborough, Thomas

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A Great Artist
To remember past emotions...

Thomas Gainsborough

Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810944405

Book Description

Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) was one of the masters of 18th-century art. This stunning book, published to accompany a major international exhibition, covering the artist's entire career, reveals the sheer range, quality, and originality of Gainsborough's work, from his engagingly naturalistic landscapes and touching images of children to his sophisticated and glamorous society portraits.

In their revealing essay, Michael Rosenthal and Martin Myrone explore Gainsborough's dynamic involvement with the social world of his day, while other essays explore his subtle approach to the lucrative world of fashionable portraiture and the often pointed social commentary behind his seductive landscapes. This volume provides new and refreshing insights into Gainsborough as an artist who succeeded in creating an experimental and modern art for his own time, and whose works remain vital and rewarding today.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Artist.......2006-03-19

I was totally amazed at the extra-ordinary talent of Thomas Gainsborough. He is truly one of the all-time great artist. I appreciated the fact that his paintings were shown in color. This book also gave a thorough description of his life. I am happy I purchased this book!

Dwight

To remember past emotions..........2005-09-10

This catalogue contains beautiful reproductions of all the drawings and paintings from the last great Gainsborough's exhibition. It helps to remember the emotions I've felt in front of the true works. Every notice is sensitive and informative. And all texts are from eminent specialists. I just regret that bibliography doesn't refer to the old great Paris exhibition.

The Hound in the Left-hand Corner: A Novel

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A museum director's midsummer's nightmare
"Museums are just extensions of the marketplace"
'Museum fatigue can be a problem.'
Laugh Out Loud
Delightful book

The Hound in the Left-hand Corner: A Novel
Giles Waterfield
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743475534

Book Description

In this brilliantly witty satire -- a bestseller in the UK -- a prestigious British museum launches an ambitious new exhibit...which quickly becomes a seasonal nightmare. Think that a day in the life of a London museum director is cold, quiet, and austere? Think again. Giles Waterfield brings a combination of intellectual comedy and knockabout farce to the subject in this story of one long day in a museum full of scandals, screw-ups?and more than a few scalawags. At the beginning of The Hound in the Left-hand Corner, Auberon, the brilliant but troubled director of the Museum of British History, is preparing one midsummer's day for the opening of the most spectacular exhibition his museum has ever staged. The centerpiece is a painting of the intriguing Lady St. John strikingly attired as Puck, which hasn't been shown in London in a hundred years. As the day passes, the portrait arouses disquieting questions, jealousies, rivalries -- and more than a few strange affections -- in the minds of the museum staff. As guests and employees pour in, the tension rises -- and Auberon himself has the hilariously ridiculous task of keeping the peace, without losing his own sense of reality as well. For everyone who loves the farce of David Lodge and Michael Frayn, or even the Antiques Roadshow, the fast-paced, hilarious satire of The Hound in the Left-hand Corner is sure to delight and entertain.

Customer Reviews:

A museum director's midsummer's nightmare.......2005-02-07

"We're thinking out of the box, looking at a new museum concept, a museum about people, not objects," boasts Sir Lewis Burslem, the chairman of the board of the Museum of British History (trendily renamed BRIT), one of the villains of Waterfield's tart and hilarious satire at the politics and commercialism that hinder a museum's ultimate goals of preservation and education.

BRIT is about to host a new blockbuster of an exhibit called, simply, "Elegance," and Burslem, with advertising opportunities in mind, is proposing an extension to the museum for "showcasing material culture, popular music, sport, shopping..." A gala dinner and party will open the exhibit later that day, and members of the royal family will be in attendance, providing the museum with a perfect public relations opportunity for announcing the expansion.

At the center of the show is a newly discovered Gainsborough portrait, graciously donated by the chairman himself yet unexamined by the museum staff before its display. When Jane Vaughan, the chief curator, finally sees the painting mounted the night before the exhibit, she begins to think that something is not quite right. And therein lies a midsummer's nightmare for Auberon Booth, the museum's harried director.

Waterfield is a former curator and gallery director himself, so his heroes and targets are certainly no surprise, nor is the frenzied finale all that unexpected. Yet, in spite of its predictability, there are laughs aplenty, and the mirth mushrooms as the plot progresses. Along the way, the author skewers scholars, high-society donors, picture restorers, art dealers, journalists, security guards, and even caterers (who provide the most over-the-top hilarity).

But something is missing. As one of the scholars on the institution's board of directors argues, "The only thing that makes museums special is their collections," and Waterfield's underlying message is that museums are, at heart, about art. Yet the art itself is mostly absent from this book. All we really learn about the mysterious "Lady St. John Impersonating Puck" is that it is a portrait of a noblewoman and a hound. Gainsborough's biography and artistic qualities and technique are beside the point; the painting could just as easily have been a missing Hogarth or Reynolds--or any other English artist. In the end, even in this clever and wicked satire, politics and commercialism overshadow the art itself.

"Museums are just extensions of the marketplace".......2004-11-23

Anyone who has ever worked in a large State Library or Art Gallery that has big exhibition or preservation departments is going to find a lot to identify with in this whimsical, fun, and totally satirical novel by Giles Waterfield. Waterfield obviously knows his subject well, as he recounts over a twenty-four hour period, the office politics, the snobbery, the workaholic mentality, and the class machinations of the (fictional) Museum of British History in London. With a simple, direct narrative that is almost journalistic in style, the book may put some off as it literally has a cast of thousands. Still, it's marvelously effective as a cutting, rambunctious satire on the world of museums where quality exhibitions that reflect the integrity of history and scholarship have become secondary to making money and being commercially viable.

The novel opens with the museum staff preparing to hold a gala dinner in the Great Hall for the premier of its latest blockbuster, an exhibition called Elegance. A certain royal presence will be attending, so everyone from the hospital administrators, to curatorial staff, to security is in a state of controlled alarm. Most panicked is the museum's young, maverick director Dr. Auberon Booth, who is engaged in a bitter power struggle over the future direction of the Museum with Sir Lewis Burslem, a overbearing property tycoon and the museum's chairman. Sir Lewis has just loaned to the exhibition a painting from his own private collection - the Lady St John as Puck, a little known painting by Gainsborough.

Dr. Jane Vaughan the museum's chief curator becomes convinced that not all is, as it seems with the painting. Jane tries to uncover the curious history behind the painting, and in the process she finds some devious shenanigans going on which not only implicate Sir Lewis but also dubious figures from the stylish art world, a Japanese tycoon, and the scheming Lucian Bankes, the museum's head of exhibitions. Running concurrently with this, is the behind the scenes story of Angel Cooks, the catering company run by Mr. Rupert and their disastrous preparations for the ambitious gala dinner.

The action is divided up into short episodes throughout the day, as the narrative jumps from person to person, but at the heart of the story is the true provenance of the Gainsborough and Jane's inimitable efforts to find out the truth behind the painting. The astute reader will probably guess quite early on what the scam is, but this shouldn't detract you from finishing the story. When evening arrives and the ambitious ball is underway, the reader is in for a real treat as the snotty guests get unadulteratingly drunk and are forced to eat a cold dinner of crab and vegetables when the power to the portable ovens accidentally goes out. The conclusion is wonderfully ludicrous with the rich gallery of absurd, self-obsessed, and neurotic characters, all coming together for the final, glamorous showdown underneath the Lady St. John as Puck. The Hound in the Left Hand Corner is de-rigor entertainment for lovers of fine art, and probably for lovers of art in general. Mike Leonard November 04.

'Museum fatigue can be a problem.'.......2004-07-29

Lies, larceny, and skullduggery--all this takes place in the wickedly funny and complex novel 'The Hound in the Left Hand Corner.' The novel covers a day in the Museum of English History (now known as BRIT). All the staff members are atwitter with preparations for a special exhibition. The centerpiece of the 'Elegance' exhibition is a little-known Gainsborough painting, 'Lady St John as Puck.' The somewhat obscure painting is the property of Sir Lewis Burslem, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He rules the museum with a rod of iron--and this is viewed as a good thing by Sir Burslem's toadies (Lucian Bankes, Head of Exhibitions) and Helen Lawless (Assistant Curator of Art). Other museum staff members are appalled by the ostentatiousness of the exhibit, and see Burslem's control and future plans for the museum as sheer disaster. Burslem's brainchild is a particularly silly and pretentious project titled 'the Nowness of Now' and he's perfectly willing to ram his idea down the throat of all dissenters. Using 'Elegance' as a media event, he hopes to launch approval and gather donations for 'The Nowness of Now.'

'The Hound in the Left Hand Corner' is a simply marvelous book--full of strong, amusing characterizations. The action begins early on the morning of the exhibition opening, and concludes that evening after a debacle. As the action builds, 'there is a sense of bubbling anarchy.' Staff members revolt and engage in petty office politics. Everyone is looking to jockey positions in the museum. Lucian Bankes, the vain, petty Head of Exhibitions possesses no principles whatsoever, so he's perfectly happy to bow and scrape before Burslem's plans. Lucian is a petty tyrant, but he's too vapid to dominate the staff. How Lucian sees himself is not how employees see him. He thinks he controls the museum, but his employees manage him. Lucian likes nothing better 'than stalking through the museum with 10 or twelve people in attendance.' He calls meetings and then keeps the entire staff waiting while he calls his hairdresser. In contrast to Lucian is museum director, Auberon Booth--he's a natural with the journalists, but he's wavering about taking a stand against the preposterous 'Nowness of Now' travesty. As Auberon vacillates between his career and ethics, several female museum employees take a radical stand to save the day. The novel builds to a crescendo during a hideous banquet (complete with serving wenches). Important members of 'the wealth club' attend the Elegance banquet, and titled guests pounce on wealthy Japanese 'like social commandos.' Horrified and privileged members of the public provide an audience to the inner political hi-jinks of the museum.

Author Waterfield kindly provides a cast of characters at the beginning of the book, and you'll need it at first to keep track of the power structure within the museum, but I soon found myself swept along by the novel's enormously entertaining and deliciously wicked wit. If you enjoy this novel, I also recommend 'Headlong' by Michael Frayn--displacedhuman

Laugh Out Loud.......2004-07-01

Waterfield's fantastic farce leads you through a rollicking day in the life of BRIT--the fictional museum of British History. While this piece of fiction is definitely a satire, one suspects that perhaps it is not too far fetched in its descriptions of the cast of characters involved in the opening of the exhibition "Elegance". The star of the exhibition is an almost unknown Gainsborough painting, which also happens to be the property of Sir Lewis Burslem, chairman of BRIT. The painting is to be unveiled that evening at a gala dinner of 400 people, including the Duke of Clarence and other "very important people." However, as the day goes by, things begin to go very wrong, and you will find yourself laughing out loud at this unique and thoroughly entertaining novel. For museum buffs, this is a must read! And, if you're not a museum buff, read it anyways! You'll love it.

Delightful book.......2004-05-01

Witty, literate and quotable - I missed the Midsummers Night connection also but didn't find it diminshed my enjoyment at all.

Interesting insight into the world of museums; certainly nothing dry about it or its inhabitants. As the author has extensive experience in that venue, he would know the truth of it....

Book Description

This new study on Thomas Gainsborough concentrates on the early life and works of the great eighteenth-century artist. Gainsborough's talent was evident at a young age, and before he established himself as one of London's leading portrait artists he was able to indulge himself in his true passion, landscapes, as well as providing portraits for a provincial clientele.

Graced with the light and gentle shadows of the English countryside, these early works provided the foundation for much of Gainsborough's later work. But many of them, including the renowned Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, and His Daughters Chasing a Butterfly, can be called masterpieces in their own right. It was in Suffolk that the artist developed a naturalistic approach to portraiture by abandoning "conversation pieces" and painting instead a number of straightforward head-and-shoulder portraits. This lively and accessible volume features eighty color and black-and-white reproductions of Gainsborough's paintings, etchings, and drawings. They not only shed light on the development of one of England's most revered painters, but also offer an intimate look at the work of a young painter in the thrall of his subjects, and just beginning to realize his full talents.

Customer Reviews:

Belsey Offers a Compelling Portrait of Early Gainsborough.......2003-09-04

This is an engaging book focusing on the earlier landscape paintings and portraits completed in Ipswich and Bath. The observations on the details of the paintings are acute and perceptive. The author illuminates with a thorough knowledge of the social mores and conventions of 18th Century England. For painters and artists, the insights on formal composition and color are instructive.

The narrative text is laced with a wit, humor, and irony that perhaps one can only find in an English art historian writing about a consummate English artist. The book is also mercifully focused and short, alleviating some of the bludgeon like tediousness of many art history tomes.

Thomas Gainsborough: A Country Life by Hugh Belsey.......2002-12-19

Mr Belsey has truimphed with this book - it is packed with detail that is conveyed in an accessible style of writing that enables the reader to absorb information whilst, at the same time, enjoying the whole experience.

Gainsborough: Colour Library (Phaidon Colour Library)

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Gainsborough: Colour Library (Phaidon Colour Library)
Nicola Kalinsky
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0714831786

Best Loved Paintings: Pinkie and Blue Boy

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A best loved book, for best loved paintings!

Best Loved Paintings: Pinkie and Blue Boy
Robert R. Wark
Manufacturer: Huntington Library Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0873281705

Book Description

This handsome gift volume reveals the stories behind the Huntington's best-known paintings, The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough and Pinkie by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Purchased by Henry E. Huntington in the 1920s, the two masterpieces have resided together in the railroad magnate's mansion-turned-art gallery in San Marino, California, for more than seventy years. Who were the children in these paintings and why did these leading artists choose them as subjects? These and many other intriguing questions are answered by renowned art historian Robert R. Wark. Sixteen color plates feature Pinkie and the Blue Boy as well as other related paintings.

Customer Reviews:

A best loved book, for best loved paintings!.......2000-10-28

I love art history and I got some old prints of these paintings. However, I wanted to learn more about them. After much time and research I finally came across this book. It helped me out more then any other resource. I fell in love with it when I read it. It answered all my questions I had about the paintings, like why they are displayed together even though they were painted by different artists? or, Who was bluleboy and pinkie? The book also touches on other paintings by the same artists, which I found helpful and made me want to learn more. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves art, or art-history. It would be a good source for art-history teachers too!

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Proving it is a Gainsborough

The search for Gainsborough
Adrienne Corri
Manufacturer: Vanguard Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 081490906X

Customer Reviews:

Proving it is a Gainsborough.......2005-03-17

A British Actress finds a painting in a theatre. A picture of an actor & she sets out to prove it is a Gainsborough.

Written in diary form.... It is her first book and a good one. I love the Art freference, art world critics and especially the Bank information that is available. Great book!

The author actress is in a movie entitled The River, if you would like to see her as an actress.

Drawings of Thomas Gainsborough (Paul Mellon Centre Studies)

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Drawings of Thomas Gainsborough (Paul Mellon Centre Studies)
John Hayes
Manufacturer: Yale Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300014252

The Letters of Thomas Gainsborough (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis)

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The Letters of Thomas Gainsborough (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in Britis)

Manufacturer: Paul Mellon Center BA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Dark Side of the Landscape: The Rural Poor in English Painting 17301840 (Cambridge Paperback Library)

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The Dark Side of the Landscape: The Rural Poor in English Painting 17301840 (Cambridge Paperback Library)
John Barrell
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521276551

Book Description

The eighteenth century saw a radical change in the depiction of country life in English painting: feeling less constrained by the conventions of classical or theatrical pastoral, landscape painters attempted to offer a portrayal of what life was really like, or was thought to be like, in contemporary England; and this inevitably involved a new approach to the depiction of the rural poor. John Barrell’s influential study shows why the poor began to be of such interest to painters, and examines the ways in which they could be represented so as to be an acceptable part of the décor of the salons of the rich. His discussion focuses on the work of three painters: Thomas Gainsborough, George Morland and John Constable. Throughout the book, Barrell draws illuminating comparisons with the contemporary literature of rural life and with the work of other painters. His terse and vigorous account has provided a landmark for social historians and literary critics, as well as historians of art.

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Gainsborough Drawings
John T. Hayes , and Lindsay Stainton
Manufacturer: Tuttle Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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