Joseph Wright of Derby

English, 1734–1797

BiographyJoseph Wright was born into a middle-class professional Derby family on 3 September 1734. His father, John, was an attorney and town clerk in Derby. Wright's formal artistic training began in 1751, when he became a pupil of the portraitist Thomas Hudson (1701-1779) in London. After two years, Wright returned to Derby, but in 1756-57 was back with Hudson in London for an additional period of instruction. In 1757 he moved back to his native city and quickly gained a local reputation as a portraitist. Wright first exhibited at the London Society of Artists in 1765. Among his earliest successes were dramatically candlelit scenes of modern scientific subjects: Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery (1766; Derby Art Gallery) and Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768; London, The National Gallery) are still two of the artist's best-known paintings. His earliest known pure landscape paintings date from about 1772.

Wright spent most of his life in Derby, except for stints in Liverpool (1768-71) and Bath (1775-77), and a visit to Italy in 1773-75. The Italian journey had a profound effect on his choice of subject matter, most specifically in fiery views of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (of which he painted more than thirty), and dramatic Mediterranean grottos. Wright continued to paint until about 1796. He died in Derby on 29 August 1797.

Wright was a versatile and often unconventional painter, producing portraits, history paintings, modern scientific subjects, and landscapes. His works demonstrate a profound preoccupation with the effects of light: pictures of smithies and forges, volcanic eruptions, views of moonlight or dramatic clouds. For most of his working life the artist kept an account book (London, National Portrait Gallery), which records pictures, patrons, and prices. Many of his compositions were disseminated through reproductive mezzotints and engravings.