George Romney in Liverpool - Report from Europe - portrait exhibit - Brief Article

Magazine Antiques, Feb, 2002 by Miriam Kramer

The latter part of the eighteenth century in England was rich in fashionable portrait painters. It was the age of Reynolds, Gainsborough, Lawrence, and Romney Of this quartet George Romney is arguably the least known. He was born in 1734 in Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire (now Cumbria), the son of a builder and cabinetmaker. He showed an early talent for painting and although largely self-taught, he had spent some time with an itinerant portraitist in northern England before settling in London in 1762. Apart from two visits to Cumbria to see his wife and children, and to paint commissions, Romney remained in London. His portraits were soon in demand, and in the early 1770s he made the obligatory trip to Italy When he returned to England in 1775 he incorporated classical statues into his portraits and became skillful at handling drapery. Romney was prolific and successful, but, following a dispute with Reynolds, he never exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. However, he was a member of the board of d irectors of the Incorporated Society of Artists. In later years, Romney's health failed, and in 1799 he returned to his wife in Kendal, Cumbria, where he died in 1802.

Entitled George Romney 1734-1802: British Art's Forgotten Genius, the show comprises some 130 works of which about 50 have never been publicly exhibited. An illustrated catalogue, edited by Alex Kidson, is published by the National Portrait Gallery, London, and Princeton University Press. It may be ordered by telephoning 800-288-2129.

To mark the bicentenary of Romney's death, Alex Kidson, the curator of British art at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, has organized a comprehensive traveling exhibition of the painter's work, which is on view in Liverpool from February 8 until April 21; at the National Portrait Gallery in London from May 30 until August 18; and at the Huntington Library Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, from September 15 until December 1.