Page:Dictionary of Artists of the English School (1878).djvu/509

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•WRIGHT, Richard, marine painter. | He appears to have been designated * Wright of the Isle of Man/ He was born at Liver- pool in 1735, and was brought up as a ship aud house-painter. In 1764, and again in 1766 and 1768, he gained the Society of Art's premiums for his sea views. He was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, and a man of rough manners and warm temper. He took an active lead among the discontented members of that body. He was a contributor to their exhi- bitions from 1765 to 1770, sending, among others, * A Storm, with a Shipwreck,' l Sun- set, a fresh Breeze/ ' A fresh Gale/ ' River, with Boats, &c. ; Moonlight.' He died about 1775. There is a painting by him at Hampton Court of 'The Vessel bringing Queen Charlotte to England in a Storm, with the Royal Convoy/ His 'British Fishery/ which has been much lauded, was engraved bv Woollett, but was quite un- worthy of the engraver. Both his wife and daughter painted.

• WRIGHT, Joseph, A.R.A. (known as 'Wright of Derby'), subject, landscape, and portrait painter. Was born Septem- ber 3, 1734, at Derby, where his father was the town clerk. He had some mechanical bent, but, taking to art, he came to Lon- don in 1751, and studied under Hudson, and afterwards under Mortimer. On the completion of his pupilage he returned to Derby, and was well employed as a portrait painter. In 1765 he sent two candle-light pictures to the Exhibition of the Incorpor- ated Society of Artists, of whose body he was a member, and in the following year two pictures of the same class, with ' The Orrery/ and became known as a painter of subjects under artificial light. In 1773 he married, and took the opportunity to visit Rome aiid other parts of Italy, returning in 1775. He then went to Bath, but not meeting with much encouragement there, he found his way back, in 1777, to his na- tive town, where he finally settled. He had made many sketches in Italy. While at Naples he saw an eruption of Vesuvius, and studied the effects of the flames, and also the varied effects of light in the caves at Capri and the grotto at Pausilippo, effects which often recur in his cottages on fire, moonlights> cavern scenes, and sunsets, which formed the staple of his art, and gained him reputation and patronage, and from 1778 he was an exhibitor of subjects of this class at the Royal Academy. On the foundation of the Academy he had entered as a student, and in 1781 he was elected an associate ; his election as a full member followed in 1784. But we are told that, annoyed by another having been elected before him, he retired altogether from the Academy. The facts, however, do not bear out this statement, and it ap- 488

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pears more probable that the nervous, irritable, ailing painter, settled quietly so far from the Metropolis, was afraid of the duties and responsibilities which his mem- bership would entail. In 1785 he made an exhibition of his works at the great room in Spring Gardens, but did not withhold his works from the Academy, and from 1788 to 1794 sent his pictures to their exhibitions. One of his best works, * An Experiment with the Air-pump/ is in the National Gallery. He died at Derby, August 29, 1797. Several of his works are engraved.

WRIGHT, Andrew, sergeant-painter to Henry VIII. Practised m Southwark in the early part of his reign, but never attained to any repute. He had an allowance of 10/. a-year.

WRIGHT, John Massey, water-colour painter. Was born at Pentonville, in 1773, the son of an organ-builder, and was brought up to that business, but did not get on ; and loving art, at the age of 16 he was introduced to Stothard, R.A., and, in- fluenced by his works, made some attempts to design from Shakespeare. Living in Lambetn Walk, he became acquainted with the scene-painter at Astley's Theatre, and afterwards with Roberts, R.A., Stanfield, R.A., and Barker, the panorama-painter, by whom he was for some time employed, and then entered into an engagement with him for seven years. His skill and readi- ness in drawing the figure were of great value to him, and he was engaged to assist in the scene-loft of His Majesty's Theatre, where his weekly pay was at once raised from three to five guineas. From 1808 he was an exhibitor, chiefly in oil, at the Royal Academy. In 1812, of 4 The Living Shame ;' in 1815, of 'Don Quixote Fed by the High-born Damsels ; ' in 1817, ' Claiming the Flitch of Bacon ; ' in 1818, nis last con- tribution, ' The Flitch of Bacon/ In 1824, he was elected a member of the Water- Colour Society, and then devoted himself to that art, and was a constant exhibitor (in the latter part of his membership, however, rarely exceeding one work), and a large and successful designer for book-illustration. He died May 13, 1866, in his 93rd year, and, after an industrious life, it is hard to say, in straitened circumstances.

WRIGHT, John, miniature painter. Practised in the latter part of the 18th century, in Gerard Street, Soho, and after- wards in Burlington Gardens. His like- nesses were correct and agreeable in man- ner, and his art was well esteemed. He exhibited miniatures at the Royal Academy from 1795, almost without intermission, to 1819, soon after which time he unhappily committed suicide.

WRIGHT, John William, water-colour painter, son of the above. Was born in