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Portrait of the Hon Mrs Boyle

Joseph Wright of Derby1734/1797

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Auckland, New Zealand

The 18th century was an exciting period of great discovery in Britain. Joseph Wright of Derby was famous for painting nocturnal scenes with specific light sources such as candles, lamps and fires, an interest that developed from time the artist spent in Rome in 1774 absorbing the lessons of the masters and producing night scenes with moonlit effects.

A true artist of the Enlightenment, some of Wright’s most outstanding group works portray the home as a laboratory for learning, children bearing witness to the scientific experiments that so absorbed those in search of knowledge.

Wright was also an accomplished portraitist, mainly serving the factory owners and merchants of the Midlands. The Honourable Mrs Boyle is a particularly sensitive portrait, the soft tones of the flesh complemented by the delicate handling of the costume. Her silvery green dress, covered by a stiff lace shawl, is similar to that worn by other sitters of Wright’s, and although the painting is undated, a similar style is worn in Allan Ramsay’s famous portrait of his second wife, painted in the second half of the 1760s. Mrs Boyle’s face is beautifully painted in a manner not dissimilar to Allan Ramsay’s, the artist capturing the slightly hesitant expression of a sitter somewhat embarrassed by this concentrated gaze.

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  • Title: Portrait of the Hon Mrs Boyle
  • Creator: Joseph Wright
  • Creator Lifespan: 1734 - 1797
  • Creator Nationality: England
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Birth Place: Derby, England
  • Date Created: 1734/1797
  • Physical Dimensions: w635 x h762 mm (Without frame)
  • Conservation notes: Cleaning tests revealed that the discoloured varnish could be removed safely from the painting. Not an original varnish, but old enough that the natural resin coating had discoloured significantly, and was masking the delicate blues and creams of the clothing. Once the treatment was complete, the luminosity of the image was revealed once more.
  • Artist biography: Joseph Wright was born in 1734. He was an English landscape and portrait painter. Critics have described him as ‘the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution’. Wright died in 1797.
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1956
  • External Link: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
  • Medium: oil on canvas
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

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