Issue 37 Spring 23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 88
World-class Hogarth
exhibition opened in Derby
With the support of national institutions, major grants and an extraordinary effort from museum
supporters in Derby and beyond, many famous paintings will come to the city for the first time
to the last and most serious of all attempts: the Jacobite
Rebellion of 1745, which was a pivotal moment in Derby’s
history as well as nationally.
A world-class exhibition showcasing 18th Century artist
William Hogarth opens at Derby Museum and Art
Gallery this March, thanks to partnerships with two
national galleries, several major grants and a public
appeal, which raised an impressive £20,000 from museum
supporters in Derby and beyond last autumn. The
exhibition will be on display from Friday 10 March until
Sunday 4 June.
Lucy Bamford, Senior Curator of FineArt at Derby
Museums explains: “Hogarth’s work explores a time of great
turmoil in Britain, includingthe Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.
Derby played a pivotal role in these events, being the furthest
point south reached by the Jacobite army during its campaign
to take the British throne, led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart
(‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’), whose statue still stands on Derby’sCathedral Green today. It was also in Derby that the
famous Council of War convened in December 1745, and here
that the decision to turn back to Scotland was made, ultimately
leading to the Jacobites’devastating defeat at the Battle of
Culloden in April 1746.”
William Hogarth (1697 –1764) is one of the most
significant individuals in the history of British art; a
celebrated painter,graphic satirist, art theorist and social
commentator who was influenced by European and
British art, as well as English literature and theatre. His
works range from life size portraits tostories told through
multiple connected scenes,which he called ‘modern moral
subjects’. Hogarth hasinspired contemporary artists from
Grayson Perry to Lubaina Himid, satirists and cartoonists
from Cold War StevetoMartin Rowson,and groundbreaking film directors such as Sergei Eisenstein and
Stanley Kubrick.
“No other artist defines our image of 18thCentury Britain quite
like Hogarth. The works in this exhibition explore themes
around national identity and what it means to be British, offering us a rich political and social commentary that still resonates today.”
This free exhibition, titled Hogarth’s Britons: Succession,
Patriotism, and the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, brings
together over 40 works from the world-renowned artist,
plus additional paintings by Hogarth’s contemporaries and
other objects from the time that tell the story of the
Jacobite struggle to restore the exiled Stuart dynasty to
the throne of Great Britain. It explores Hogarth’s response
Dr Jacqueline Riding originated the exhibition through
her partnership with London’s Foundling Museum, withmajor grant support from the Paul Mellon Centre for
Studies in British Art. Dr Riding has worked closely with
Lucy Bamford, Senior Curator of Fine Art at Derby Museums,to develop the exhibition’s scope which embraces
the pivotal role Derby played during the 1745 Jacobite
Rebellion.
Dr Riding said:"I am delighted that Hogarth's Britons is being
staged in Derby and that it will bethe first exhibition held in the
city to showcase this extraordinary artist's work. For Hogarth,
defining and reflecting Britishness and contemporary national
life was synonymous with his vision for an authentic,
homegrown art which was both educational and entertaining.He aimed not only to raise the status of the visual arts and
Image, War memorial statue
commemorating Prince Charles Edward
Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and the
Jacobite Rising, at Cathedral Green,
Derby © Derby Museums.
Conservation & Heritage Journal
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