THE GALLERY OF MODERN BRITISH ARTISTS

Categories: Art

Year: 1836

Publisher: Simpkin and Marshall, Stationers' Court ; T.W. Stevens, 10, Derby Street, King's Cross

Pagination: iv, [1]-68 ; engravings not paginated

Dimensions: 27.5 x 21.5 cm

Illustrations: the book is composed of 77 engravings not including the frontispiece and vignette preceding the title page and the loose insert "MR. COLLINS AS PAUL CLIFFORD."

City: London

Document Type: Book

Language: English

Printer: J. Moyes, Castle Street, Leicester Square, London

Marginalia: Front blank page 'Miss Ellen Ridgway | with Mrs Goodis (?) kind regards | January 28th 1848 -' ; 'John Shittuk - | As a remembrance of | Miss Ellen Ridgway | June 28th 1887.' Additional loose sheet '(engraving) 'MR. COLLINS AS PAUL CLIFFORD.'

Binding: Reddish brown, half calf. Front and back covers marbled board, gilt-tooled edges. SPINE: [gilt-tooled] '(line) | (line) | (decorative design) | GALLERY | OF MODERN | BRITISH | ARTISTS | (decorative design) | (decorative design) | (decorative design) | (line) | (line)'.

Edges: Trimmed, gilt

Notes:

Engravings from prominent contemporary artists including: Turner, Roberts, Harding, Clennel, Dewint, Austin, Stanfield, Bonington, Prout, Cattermole, C. Fielding, Cox, &c. &c. Title-page notes publication date as 1834, but frontispiece engravings are dated 1836. The author(s) of the brief commentaries that accompany each engraving is not acknowledged in the 1834 edition of Gallery of Modern British Artists, nor is the editor(s) who chose which paintings and painters to include. Some sources attribute the authorship to the famous landscape and history painter Joseph Mallord William Turner (c. 1775-1851). Turner was a romantic landscape artist, watercolorist, and printmaker. He is commonly referred to as 'the painter of light.' Among his most famous paintings are The Fighting Temeraire (1838), Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying: Typhoon Coming On (1840), and Rain, Steam, and Speed: The Great Western Railway (1844). However, although two of his paintings are included in Gallery of Modern British Artists, he is not attributed as the author in either the 1834 or the 1835 edition of the book. W. Simpkin and R. Marshall operated a publishing and bookselling business in London, located at 3 and 4 Stationers Court. Their trading dates are 1815-1837. Simpkin and Marshall were succeeded by Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. There is very little known about T. W. Stevens. James Moyes operated a printing business from 1807 to his death in 1838. His business moved several times before ending up at Castle Street. It moved from 34 Shoe La. to 32 Islington Rd. to 3 Greville St. to Bouverie St. to 3 Took's Ct. and finally to 28 Castle St., Leicester Square. George Moyes took over the business after James' death, and the company was renamed Moyes & Barclay and traded from 1839-1845. Summary: p. I title page and publisher's imprint. p. ii printing notice. p. iii contents of vol. I. p. iv contents of vol. II. p. 1-38 vol. I text and engravings. p. 39-68 vol. II text and engravings. Gallery of Modern British Artists is a stunning two volume collection of 77 engravings by numerous nineteenth-century British artists. The engravings depict a variety of scenes, ranging from landscapes, historical events, architecture, and illustrations from popular texts (primarily Sir Walter Scott novels). They also depict a variety of cultures; although English scenes dominate, many of the engravings portray foreign landscapes, architecture, and culture. Each commentary generally begins with observations on the artist's skill and reputation and on the painting's particular attributes. Representations of buildings are followed by a discussion of the building's history and architecture, foreign scenes by a short explanation of the culture and landscape depicted, historical scenes by a history of the event represented, and scenes from literature by an explanation of the moment in the plot the artist has chosen to illustrate. Gallery of Modern British Artists is intended both to instruct and to delight; its contents are a pleasure to peruse, yet its images and text serve the further purpose of teaching its English audience lessons in history, culture, and taste. References: The British Book Trade Index. University of Birmingham. http://www.bbti.bham.ac.uk | Herrmann, Luke. ‘Turner, Joseph Mallord William (1775–1851).' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press: Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 [http://www.oxforddnb.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/view/article/27854].