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English art is the body of
visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...
made in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. England has Europe's earliest and northernmost ice-age
cave art In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 ye ...
.
Prehistoric art In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other methods of re ...
in England largely corresponds with art made elsewhere in contemporary Britain, but early medieval
Anglo-Saxon art Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman ...
saw the development of a distinctly English style, and English art continued thereafter to have a distinct character. English art made after the formation in 1707 of the
Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, wh ...
may be regarded in most respects simultaneously as
art of the United Kingdom The Art of the United Kingdom refers to all forms of visual art in or associated with the United Kingdom since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and encompasses English art, Scottish art, Welsh art and Irish art, and form ...
. Medieval English painting, mainly religious, had a strong national tradition and was influential in Europe. The
English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
, which was antipathetic to art, not only brought this tradition to an abrupt stop but resulted in the destruction of almost all wall-paintings. Only
illuminated manuscripts An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
now survive in good numbers. There is in the art of the
English Renaissance The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England from the early 16th century to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th cent ...
a strong interest in
portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...
, and the
portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
was more popular in England than anywhere else. English Renaissance sculpture was mainly architectural and for monumental tombs. Interest in English
landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...
had begun to develop by the time of the 1707 Act of Union. Substantive definitions of English art have been attempted by, among others, art scholar
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, '' The Buildings of England'' ...
(in his 1956 book ''The Englishness of English Art''), art historian
Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ...
(in his 2000 book ''The Spirit of Britain: A narrative history of the arts'') and critic Peter Ackroyd (in his 2002 book ''Albion'').


Earliest art

The earliest English art – also Europe's earliest and northernmost
cave art In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 ye ...
– is located at Creswell Crags in
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, estimated at between 13,000 and 15,000 years old. In 2003, more than 80 engravings and
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
s, depicting deer, bison, horses, and what may be birds or bird-headed people were found there. The famous, large ritual landscape of
Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connec ...
dates from the
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
period; around 2600 BC. From around 2150 BC, the
Beaker people The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell beaker drinking vessel used at the very beginning of the European Bronze Age. Arising from ar ...
learned how to make
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...
, and used both tin and
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
. They became skilled in metal refining and their works of art, placed in graves or sacrificial pits have survived. In the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
, a new art style arrived as
Celtic culture Celtic culture may refer to: *the culture of Celts *the culture of Celts (modern) *the culture of Celtic nations: **Culture of Ireland **Culture of Scotland **Culture of the Isle of Man **Culture of Wales **Culture of Cornwall **Culture of Brittany ...
and spread across the British isles. Though metalwork, especially gold ornaments, was still important, stone and most likely wood were also used. This style continued into the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
period, beginning in the 1st century BC, and found a renaissance in the
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
period. The arrival of the Romans brought the Classical style of which many monuments have survived, especially funerary monuments, statues and busts. They also brought glasswork and
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s. In the 4th century, a new element was introduced as the first Christian art was made in Britain. Several mosaics with Christian symbols and pictures have been preserved. England boasts some remarkable prehistoric hill figures; a famous example is the Uffington White Horse in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...
, which "for more than 3,000 years ... has been jealously guarded as a masterpiece of minimalist art."


Earliest art: gallery

File:Ochre Horse.jpg, Ochre horse illustration from the Creswell Crags; 11000-13000 BC. File:Stonehenge Sunset (1) - geograph.org.uk - 1626228.jpg,
Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connec ...
; 2600 BC. File:Aerial view from Paramotor of Uffington White Horse - geograph.org.uk - 305467.jpg, Uffington White Horse; c. 1000 BC. File:Winchester Hoard items.jpg,
Winchester Hoard The Winchester Hoard is a hoard of Iron Age gold found in a field in the Winchester area of Hampshire, England, in 2000, by a retired florist and amateur metal detectorist, Kevan Halls. It was declared treasure and valued at £350,000— ...
items; 75-25 BC. File:Hinton St Mary.jpg,
Hinton St Mary Mosaic The Hinton St Mary Mosaic is a large, almost complete Roman mosaic discovered at Hinton St Mary, Dorset, England in 1963. It appears to feature a portrait bust of Jesus Christ as its central motif, which could be the oldest depiction of Je ...
; 4th century AD.


Medieval art

After Roman rule,
Anglo-Saxon art Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman ...
brought the incorporation of Germanic traditions, as may be seen in the metalwork of
Sutton Hoo Sutton Hoo is the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near the English town of Woodbridge. Archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938, when a previously undisturbed ship burial containing ...
.
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
sculpture was outstanding for its time, at least in the small works in ivory or bone which are almost all that survive. Especially in
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
, the
Insular art Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...
style shared across the British Isles produced the finest work being produced in Europe, until the
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
raids and invasions largely suppressed the movement; the Book of Lindisfarne is one example certainly produced in Northumbria.
Anglo-Saxon art Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman ...
developed a very sophisticated variation on contemporary Continental styles, seen especially in metalwork and
illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, th ...
s such as the
Benedictional of St. Æthelwold The Benedictional of St. Æthelwold (London, British Library, Add MS 49598) is a 10th-century illuminated benedictional, the most important surviving work of the Anglo-Saxon Winchester School of illumination. It contains the various pontific ...
. None of the large-scale Anglo-Saxon paintings and sculptures that we know existed have survived. By the first half of the 11th century, English art benefited from lavish
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
by a wealthy Anglo-Saxon elite, who valued above all works in precious metals. but the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...
in 1066 brought a sudden halt to this art boom, and instead works were melted down or removed to
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. The so-called Bayeux Tapestry - the large, English-made, embroidered cloth depicting events leading up to the Norman conquest - dates to the late 11th century. Some decades after the Norman conquest, manuscript painting in England was soon again among the best of any in Europe; in Romanesque works such as the Winchester Bible and the
St. Albans Psalter The St Albans Psalter, also known as the Albani Psalter or the Psalter of Christina of Markyate, is an English illuminated manuscript, one of several psalters known to have been created at or for St Albans Abbey in the 12th century.Rodney M. Thoms ...
, and then in early Gothic ones like the Tickhill Psalter. The best-known English illuminator of the period is
Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
(c. 1200–1259). Some of the rare surviving examples of English medieval panel paintings, such as the
Westminster Retable The Westminster Retable, the oldest known panel painting altarpiece in England,Hamilton ...
and Wilton Diptych, are of the highest quality. From the late 14th century to the early 16th century, England had a considerable industry in Nottingham alabaster reliefs for mid-market
altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...
s and small statues, which were exported across Northern Europe. Another art form introduced through the church was
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
, which was also adopted for secular uses.


Medieval art: gallery

File:Sutton.hoo.helmet.jpg, Sutton Hoo helmet; c. 625. File:Lindisfarne Gospels folio 209v.jpg,
Lindisfarne Gospels The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library Cotton MS Nero D.IV) is an illuminated manuscript gospel book probably produced around the years 715–720 in the monastery at Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland, which is now in the ...
; c. 700. File:LichfieldGospelsEvangelist.jpg, Lichfield Gospels; c. 730. File:Bayeux Deense bijl.jpg, Detail from the so-called Bayeux Tapestry; c. 1070s. File:Wga 12c illuminated manuscripts Mary Magdalen announcing the resurrection.jpg, Mary Magdalen announcing the
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
, from the
St. Albans Psalter The St Albans Psalter, also known as the Albani Psalter or the Psalter of Christina of Markyate, is an English illuminated manuscript, one of several psalters known to have been created at or for St Albans Abbey in the 12th century.Rodney M. Thoms ...
; 1120–1145. File:Peterborough Psalter c 1220-25 Mercy and Truth.jpg, The Fitzwilliam
Peterborough Psalter The Peterborough Psalter is a name given to two different illuminated manuscripts psalters produced in the scriptorium of Peterborough Abbey. One, from the early 13th century, is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; the other, from the early ...
; before 1222. File:Westminster Retable.jpg, The
Westminster Retable The Westminster Retable, the oldest known panel painting altarpiece in England,Hamilton ...
; c. 1270s. File:StepanAngl.jpg,
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...
in
Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
's '' Flores Historiarum''; 1306–1326. File:Queen Mary's Psalter.jpg, The Queen Mary Psalter; 1310–1320. File:SmrtBecketta.jpg,
Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (french: Becket ou l'honneur de Dieu) is a 1959 play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in 117 ...
's death in the Luttrell Psalter; 1320–1345. File:Gorleston3.jpg,
Gorleston Psalter The Gorleston Psalter (British Library Add MS 49622) is a 14th-century manuscript notable for containing early music instruction and for its humorous marginalia. It is named for the town of Gorleston in Norfolk. Description The Gorleston ...
; 14th century. File:Tickhill.jpg, Tickhill Psalter; 14th century. File:The Wilton Diptych (Right).jpg, The Wilton Diptych (right); c. 1395–1399. File:StThomasEnthroned.jpg, Nottingham Alabaster of St
Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and the ...
; 15th century. File:Seven Churches of Asia in the East Window at York Minster.jpg,
Stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
at York Minster by John Thornton ( fl. 1405–1433).


16th and 17th centuries

Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547–7 January 1619) – "the first native-born genius of English painting" – began a strong English tradition in the
portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
. The tradition was continued by Hilliard's pupil
Isaac Oliver Isaac Oliver (c. 1565 – bur. 2 October 1617) or Olivier was an English portrait miniature painter.Baskett, John. ''Paul Mellon's legacy: a passion for British art'' (Yale University Press, 2007) pp. 240-1. Life and work Born in Rouen, he ...
(c. 1565–bur. 2 October 1617), whose French
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
parents had escaped to England in the artist's childhood. Other notable English artists across the period include: Nathaniel Bacon (1585–1627);
John Bettes the Elder John Bettes the Elder (active ''c.'' 1531–1570) was an English artist whose few known paintings date from between about 1543 and 1550. His most famous work is his ''Portrait of a Man in a Black Cap''. His son, John Bettes the Younger (w ...
(active c. 1531–1570) and John Bettes the Younger (died 1616); George Gower (c.1540–1596), William Larkin (early 1580s–1619), and Robert Peake the Elder (c. 1551–1619). The artists of the Tudor court and their successors until the early 18th century included a number of influential imported talents:
Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere;  – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest por ...
,
Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...
,
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...
,
Orazio Gentileschi Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After ...
and his daughter Artemisia, Sir
Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. Life Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...
(a naturalised English subject from 1662), and Sir
Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs from ...
(a naturalised English subject by the time of his 1691 knighthood). The 17th century saw a number of significant English painters of full-size portraits, most notably William Dobson 1611 (bapt. 1611–bur. 1646); others include Cornelius Johnson (bapt. 1593–bur. 1661) and Robert Walker (1599–1658).
Samuel Cooper Samuel or Sam Cooper may refer to: *Samuel Cooper (painter) (1609–1672), English miniature painter *Samuel Cooper (clergyman) (1725–1783), Congregationalist minister in Boston, Massachusetts * Samuel Cooper (surgeon) (1780–1848), English surge ...
(1609–1672) was an accomplished miniaturist in Hilliard's tradition, as was his brother Alexander Cooper (1609–1660), and their uncle, John Hoskins (1589/1590–1664). Other notable portraitists of the period include: Thomas Flatman (1635–1688), Richard Gibson (1615–1690), the dissolute John Greenhill (c. 1644–1676), John Riley (1646–1691), and
John Michael Wright John Michael Wright (May 1617 – July 1694) was an English or Scottish (he signed as both at times) portrait painter in the Baroque style. Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and acquired a considerable rep ...
(1617–1694). Francis Barlow (c. 1626–1704) is known as "the father of British sporting painting"; he was England's first wildlife painter, beginning a tradition that reached a high-point a century later, in the work of
George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds, Reynold ...
(1724–1806). English women began painting professionally in the 17th century; notable examples include Joan Carlile (c. 1606–79), and Mary Beale (née Cradock; 1633–1699). In the first half of the 17th century the English nobility became important collectors of European art, led by King Charles I and
Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel KG, (7 July 1585 – 4 October 1646) was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politi ...
. By the end of the 17th century, the
Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
– a trip of Europe giving exposure to the cultural legacy of
classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
and the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
– was ''de rigueur'' for wealthy young Englishmen.


16th and 17th centuries: gallery

File:AnneBoleyn56.jpg, Hoskins's miniature of
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...
(c. 1501–1536); n.d. File:George Gower Elizabeth Sieve Portrait 2.jpg, George Gower's sieve portrait of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
; 1579. File:Elizabeth I attrib john bettes c1585 90.jpg, John Bettes the Younger's portrait of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
; c. 1585. File:Nicholas Hilliard - Young Man Among Roses - V&A P.163-1910.jpg, Nicholas Hilliard's ''Young Man Among Roses''; 1587. File:Isaac Oliver d. Ä. 002.jpg,
Isaac Oliver Isaac Oliver (c. 1565 – bur. 2 October 1617) or Olivier was an English portrait miniature painter.Baskett, John. ''Paul Mellon's legacy: a passion for British art'' (Yale University Press, 2007) pp. 240-1. Life and work Born in Rouen, he ...
's ''A Young Man Seated Under a Tree''; 1590–1595. File:Elizabeth I. Procession portrait (detail).jpg, Detail of Robert Peake the Elder's procession portrait of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
; c. 1601. File:CHANDOS3.jpg, The
Chandos portrait Chandos may refer to: Titles * Duke of Chandos, and Baron Chandos, three English titles, all extinct * Viscount Chandos, a modern title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Businesses * Chandos Records * Chandos Publishing Other uses * Chando ...
of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, attributed to John Taylor; 1600–1610. File:William Larkin Sir Francis Bacon 2.jpg, William Larkin's portrait of Sir
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
; c. 1610. File:Charles II when Prince of Wales by William Dobson, 1642.jpg, Dobson's portrait of Charles II when
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...
; 1644. File:Charles I at his trial.jpg,
Edward Bower Edward Bower (fl. 1635 – 1667)Portraits by Edward Bower
( King Charles I at his trial''; 1648. File:Walker, Robert John - Evelyn.jpg, Robert Walker's portrait of diarist
John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or m ...
; 1648. File:Charles II by John Michael Wright.jpg,
John Michael Wright John Michael Wright (May 1617 – July 1694) was an English or Scottish (he signed as both at times) portrait painter in the Baroque style. Wright trained in Edinburgh under the Scots painter George Jamesone, and acquired a considerable rep ...
's portrait of Charles II; c. 1676. File:John Locke by Greenhill.jpg, John Greenhill's portrait of
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
; c. 1672–1676. File:Coursing the Hare.JPG, Francis Barlow's ''Coursing the Hare''; 1686. File:Samuel Pepys by John Riley (Yale University Art Gallery).tif, John Riley's portrait of
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
; c. 1690.


18th and 19th centuries

In the 18th century, English painting's distinct style and tradition continued to concentrate frequently on portraiture, but interest in landscapes increased, and a new focus was placed on
history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
, which was regarded as the highest of the hierarchy of genres, and is exemplified in the extraordinary work of Sir James Thornhill (1675/1676–1734). History painter Robert Streater (1621–1679) was highly thought of in his time.
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...
(1697–1764) reflected the burgeoning English
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
temperament — English in habits, disposition, and temperament, as well as by birth. His
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...
works, full of black humour, point out to contemporary society the deformities, weaknesses and vices of
London life ''London Life'' is a 1924 play by Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock. It ran for 36 performances at the Drury Lane Theatre in London's West End. It was produced by Basil Dean. The large cast included Clifford Mollison, Henry Ainley, Gordon Har ...
. Hogarth's influence can be found in the distinctively English satirical tradition continued by James Gillray (1756–1815), and
George Cruikshank George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reache ...
(1792–1878). One of the genres in which Hogarth worked was the conversation piece, a form in which certain of his contemporaries also excelled: Joseph Highmore (1692–1780), Francis Hayman (1708–1776), and
Arthur Devis Arthur Devis (19 February 1712 – 25 July 1787) was an English artist, half-brother of the painter Anthony Devis (1729–1816), and father of painters Thomas Anthony Devis (1757–1810) and Arthur William Devis (1762–1822). His place in ...
(1712–1787). Portraits were in England, as in Europe, the easiest and most profitable way for an artist to make a living, and the English tradition continued to show the relaxed elegance of the portrait-style traceable to Van Dyck. The leading portraitists are:
Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
(1727–1788); Sir
Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...
(1723–1792), founder of the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
; George Romney (1734–1802); Lemuel "Francis" Abbott (1760/61–1802);
Richard Westall Richard Westall (2 January 1765 – 4 December 1836) was an English painter and illustrator of portraits, historical and literary events, best known for his portraits of Byron. He was also Queen Victoria's drawing master. Biography We ...
(1765–1836); Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830); and
Thomas Phillips Thomas Phillips RA (18 October 177020 April 1845) was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers. Life and work Phillips was born at ...
(1770–1845). Also of note are Jonathan Richardson (1667–1745) and his pupil (and defiant son-in-law) Thomas Hudson (1701–1779).
Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...
(1734–1797) was well known for his candlelight pictures;
George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds, Reynold ...
(1724–1806) and, later, Edwin Henry Landseer (1802–1873) for their animal paintings. By the end of the century, the English
swagger portrait Grand Manner refers to an idealized aesthetic style derived from classicism and the art of the High Renaissance. In the eighteenth century, British artists and connoisseurs used the term to describe paintings that incorporated visual metaphors in ...
was much admired abroad. London's
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...
(1757–1827) produced a diverse and visionary body of work defying straightforward classification; critic Jonathan Jones regards him as "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". Blake's artist friends included
neoclassicist Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism wa ...
John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several ye ...
(1755–1826), and
Thomas Stothard Thomas Stothard (17 August 1755 – 27 April 1834) was an English painter, illustrator and engraver. His son, Robert T. Stothard was a painter ( fl. 1810): he painted the proclamation outside York Minster of Queen Victoria's accession to the ...
(1755–1834) with whom Blake quarrelled. In the popular imagination English
landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...
from the 18th century onwards typifies English art, inspired largely from the love of the
pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...
and mirroring as it does the development of larger
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peop ...
s set in a pastoral rural landscape. Two English Romantics are largely responsible for raising the status of
landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...
worldwide:
John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, th ...
(1776–1837) and
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...
(1775–1851), who is credited with elevating landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting. Other notable 18th and 19th century landscape painters include:
George Arnald George Arnald (1763 – 21 November 1841) was a British painter who specialised in landscapes, including topographical views to illustrated county histories. He is best known for his celebrated painting depicting the Battle of the Nile. Biogr ...
(1763–1841); John Linnell (1792–1882), a rival to Constable in his time;
George Morland George Morland (26 June 176329 October 1804) was an English painter. His early work was influenced by Francis Wheatley, but after the 1790s he came into his own style. His best compositions focus on rustic scenes: farms and hunting; smugglers a ...
(1763–1804), who developed on Francis Barlow's tradition of animal and rustic painting; Samuel Palmer (1805–1881); Paul Sandby (1731–1809), who is recognised as the father of English watercolour painting; and subsequent watercolourists
John Robert Cozens John Robert Cozens (1752 – 14 December 1797) was a British draftsman and painter of romantic watercolour landscapes. Cozens executed watercolors in curious atmospheric effects and illusions which had an influence on Thomas Girtin and J.M ...
(1752–1797), Turner's friend Thomas Girtin (1775–1802), and Thomas Heaphy (1775–1835). The early 19th century saw the emergence of the
Norwich school Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as a ...
of painters, the first provincial
art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defin ...
outside of London. Short-lived owing to sparse patronage and internal dissent, its prominent members were "founding father" John Crome (1768–1821),
John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, author and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a silk merchant and lace dealer, C ...
(1782–1842), James Stark (1794–1859), and
Joseph Stannard Joseph Stannard (13 September 1797 7 December 1830) was an English marine, landscape and portrait painter. He was a talented and prominent member of the Norwich School of painters. After attending the Norwich Grammar School, his parents pai ...
(1797–1830). The
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jame ...
movement, established in the 1840s, dominated English art in the second half of the 19th century. Its members —
William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...
(1827–1910), Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882),
John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...
(1828–1896) and others — concentrated on religious, literary, and genre works executed in a colorful and minutely detailed, almost photographic style. Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893) shared the Pre-Raphaelites' principles. Leading English art critic
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
(1819–1900) was hugely influential in the latter half of the 19th century; from the 1850s he championed the Pre-Raphaelites, who were influenced by his ideas.
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...
(1834–1896), founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, emphasised the value of traditional craft skills which seemed to be in decline in the mass industrial age. His designs, like the work of the Pre-Raphaelite painters with whom he was associated, referred frequently to
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
motifs. English narrative painter William Powell Frith (1819–1909) has been described as the "greatest British painter of the social scene since Hogarth", and painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts (1817–1904) became famous for his
symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...
work. The gallant spirit of 19th century English
military art Military art is art with a military subject matter, regardless of its style or medium. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories and intimidate po ...
helped shape Victorian England's self-image. Notable English military artists include: John Edward Chapman 'Chester' Mathews (1843–1927); Lady Butler (1846–1933); Frank Dadd (1851–1929); Edward Matthew Hale (1852–1924); Charles Edwin Fripp (1854–1906); Richard Caton Woodville, Jr. (1856–1927); Harry Payne (1858–1927); George Delville Rowlandson (1861–1930); and Edgar Alfred Holloway (1870–1941). Thomas Davidson (1842–1919), who specialised in historical naval scenes, incorporated remarkable reproductions of Nelson-related works by Arnald, Westall and Abbott in ''England's Pride and Glory'' (1894). To the end of the 19th century, the art of
Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the ...
(1872–1898) contributed to the development of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
, and suggested, among other things, an interest in the visual art of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
.


18th and 19th centuries: gallery

File:The west wall of the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College.jpg, West wall of James Thornhill's Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College; 1707–1726. File:Alexander Pope circa 1736.jpeg,
Richardson Richardson may refer to: People * Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname * Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s * Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962) Places Australia * Richardson, Australian Capi ...
's portrait of
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
; c. 1736. File:Marriage A-la-Mode 2, The Tête à Tête - William Hogarth.jpg, Hogarth's '' Marriage A-la-Mode: 2, The Tête à Tête''; c. 1743. File:Major-General James Wolfe.jpg, Highmore's portrait of General James Wolfe; 1749. File:Thomas Gainsborough-Andrews.jpg, Gainsborough's ''
Mr and Mrs Andrews ''Mr and Mrs Andrews'' is an oil on canvas portrait of about 1750 by Thomas Gainsborough, now in the National Gallery, London. Today it is one of his most famous works, but it remained in the family of the sitters until 1960 and was very little ...
''; c. 1750. File:Arthur Devis 13.jpg,
Arthur Devis Arthur Devis (19 February 1712 – 25 July 1787) was an English artist, half-brother of the painter Anthony Devis (1729–1816), and father of painters Thomas Anthony Devis (1757–1810) and Arthur William Devis (1762–1822). His place in ...
's " conversation piece" portrait of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
's Robert James and family; 1751. File:Clive.jpg, Francis Hayman's ''
Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...
and Mir Jafar after the
Battle of Plassey The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar ...
''; 1757. File:Whistlejacket by George Stubbs edit.jpg,
George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds, Reynold ...
's '' Whistlejacket''; c. 1762. File:Warren Hastings by Joshua Reynolds.jpg, Sir
Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...
's portrait of
Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...
; 1766–1768. File:Joseph Wright of Derby - Experiment with the Air Pump - WGA25892.jpg,
Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...
's ''
An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump ''An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump'' is a 1768 oil-on-canvas painting by Joseph Wright of Derby, one of a number of candlelit scenes that Wright painted during the 1760s. The painting departed from convention of the time by depicting a ...
''; 1768. File:George Romney - Emma Hart in a Straw Hat.jpg, George Romney's '' Emma Hart in a Straw Hat''; 1785. File:Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1758-1805, 1st Viscount Nelson.jpg, Lemuel Francis Abbott's portrait of Vice-Admiral
Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...
; 1797. File:Europe a Prophecy copy D 1794 British Museum object 1.jpg,
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...
's ''
The Ancient of Days ''The Ancient of Days'' is a design by William Blake, originally published as the frontispiece to the 1794 work ''Europe a Prophecy''. It draws its name from one of God's titles in the Book of Daniel and shows Urizen crouching in a circular de ...
'', frontispiece to ''
Europe a Prophecy ''Europe a Prophecy'' is a 1794 prophetic book by the British poet and illustrator William Blake. It is engraved on 18 plates, and survives in just nine known copies. It followed ''America a Prophecy'' of 1793. Background During autumn 1790, ...
''; 1794. File:Palmerston 1802.jpg, Thomas Heaphy's portrait of
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
; 1802. File:Nelson at Cadiz.jpg,
Richard Westall Richard Westall (2 January 1765 – 4 December 1836) was an English painter and illustrator of portraits, historical and literary events, best known for his portraits of Byron. He was also Queen Victoria's drawing master. Biography We ...
's ''Nelson in conflict with a Spanish launch, 3 July 1797''; 1806. File:Thomas Stothard Canterbury Pilgrims 318 x 952 mm.jpg,
Thomas Stothard Thomas Stothard (17 August 1755 – 27 April 1834) was an English painter, illustrator and engraver. His son, Robert T. Stothard was a painter ( fl. 1810): he painted the proclamation outside York Minster of Queen Victoria's accession to the ...
's ''Procession of the Canterbury Pilgrims''; 1806–7. File:James Gillray - The Plum-Pudding in Danger - WGA08993.jpg, Gillray's '' The Plumb-pudding in danger''; 1805. File:Saluting the Regent's Bomb.jpg, Cruikshank's ''Saluting the
Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
's Bomb''; 1816. File:Sir Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington.jpg, Lawrence's post- Waterloo portrait of
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...
; 1816. File:The Battle of the Nile.jpg,
George Arnald George Arnald (1763 – 21 November 1841) was a British painter who specialised in landscapes, including topographical views to illustrated county histories. He is best known for his celebrated painting depicting the Battle of the Nile. Biogr ...
's ''The Destruction of ' L'Orient' at the
Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...
, 1 August 1798''; 1825–27. File:Lord Byron in Albanian dress.jpg, Phillips's portrait of
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
; c. 1835. File:George IV 1821 color.jpg, King George IV depicted wearing coronation robes and four collars of chivalric orders: the Golden Fleece, Royal Guelphic, Bath and Garter by Thomas Lawrence; c. 1821 File:John Constable The Hay Wain.jpg,
John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, th ...
's '' The Hay Wain''; c. 1821 File:John Constable - Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden - Google Art Project.jpg, Constable's '' Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds''; c. 1826 version File:Turner temeraire.jpg, Turner's '' The Fighting Temeraire''; 1839. File:Ophelia john everett millais.JPG, Millais's '' Ophelia''; 1851–1852.
File:Hunt english coasts.jpg,
Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...
's '' Our English Coasts''; 1852. File:Ford Madox Brown, The last of England.jpg, Ford Madox Brown's '' The Last of England''; 1852–1855. File:Charles Dickens by Frith 1859.jpg, William Powell Frith's portrait of Dickens; 1859. File:John Ruskin CDV by Elliott & Fry, 1867.jpg,
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
, leading English
art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogu ...
of the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...
; 1867. File:Charles George Gordon by Julia Abercromby.jpg, Julia, Lady Abercromby's portrait of General Gordon; after 1885. File:England's Pride and Glory.jpg, Thomas Davidson's ''England's Pride and Glory''; 1894. File:RCWoodvilleJr 21Lancers Omdurman.jpg, Woodville's ''The Charge of the 21st Lancers at the
Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief ( sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the ...
, 2 September 1898''; 1898.


20th century

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...
found a focus in the New English Art Club, founded in 1886. Notable members included
Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...
(1860–1942) and Philip Wilson Steer (1860–1942), two English painters with coterminous lives who became influential in the 20th century. Sickert went on to the
post-impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...
Camden Town Group The Camden Town Group was a group of English Post-Impressionist artists founded in 1911 and active until 1913. They gathered frequently at the studio of painter Walter Sickert in the Camden Town area of London. History In 1908, critic Frank ...
, active 1911–1913, and was prominent in the transition to
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
. Steer's sea and landscape paintings made him a leading Impressionist, but later work displays a more traditional English style, influenced by both Constable and Turner. Paul Nash (1889–1946) played a key role in the development of Modernism in English art. He was among the most important landscape artists of the first half of the twentieth century, and the artworks he produced during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
are among the most iconic images of the conflict. Nash attended the
Slade School of Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
, where the remarkable generation of artists who studied under the influential
Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist. He became an influential art teacher. He was one of the first British art ...
(1862–1937) included, too,
Harold Gilman Harold John Wilde Gilman (11 February 187612 February 1919) was a British painter of interiors, portraits and landscapes, and a founder-member of the Camden Town Group. Early life and studies Harold John Wilde Gilman was the second son and ...
(1876–1919), Spencer Gore (1878–1914), David Bomberg (1890–1957),
Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the sma ...
(1891–1959), Mark Gertler (1891–1939), and Roger Hilton (1911–1975). Modernism's most controversial English talent was writer and painter Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957). He co-founded the
Vorticist Vorticism was a London-based Modernism, modernist art movement formed in 1914 by the writer and artist Wyndham Lewis. The movement was partially inspired by Cubism and was introduced to the public by means of the publication of the Vorticist mani ...
movement in art, and after becoming better known for his writing than his painting in the 1920s and early 1930s he returned to more concentrated work on visual art, with paintings from the 1930s and 1940s constituting some of his best-known work. Walter Sickert called Wyndham Lewis: "the greatest portraitist of this or any other time". Modernist sculpture was exemplified by English artists
Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...
(1898–1986), well known for his carved marble and larger-scale abstract cast bronze sculptures, and
Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a lea ...
(1903–1975), who was a leading figure in the colony of artists who resided in
St Ives, Cornwall St Ives ( kw, Porth Ia, meaning " St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially depend ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Lancastrian L. S. Lowry (1887–1976) became famous for his scenes of life in the
industrial district Industrial district concept was initially used by Alfred Marshall to describe some aspects of the industrial organisation of nations. Industrial district (ID) is a place where workers and firms, specialised in a main industry and auxiliary indus ...
s of
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
in the mid-20th century. He developed a distinctive style of painting and is best known for his urban landscapes peopled with human figures often referred to as "matchstick men". Notable English artists of the mid-20th century and after include: Graham Sutherland (1903–1980); Carel Weight (1908–1997);
Ruskin Spear Ruskin Spear, CBE, RA (30 June 1911 – 17 January 1990) was an English painter and teacher of art, regarded as one of the foremost British portrait painters of his day. Born in Hammersmith, Spear attended the local art school before going ...
(1911–1990); pop art pioneers Richard Hamilton (1922–2011), Peter Blake (b. 1932), and
David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...
(b. 1937); and
op art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden image ...
exemplar Bridget Riley (b. 1931). Following the development of
Postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...
, English art became in some respect synonymous toward the end of the 20th century with the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
; the prize, established in 1984 and named with ostensibly credible intentions after J. M. W. Turner, earned for latterday English art a reputation arguably to its detriment. Prize exhibits have included a shark in formaldehyde and a dishevelled bed. Critic Matthew Collings observes that: "Turner Prize art is based on a formula where something looks startling at first and then turns out to be expressing some kind of banal idea, which somebody will be sure to tell you about. The ideas are never important or even really ideas, more notions, like the notions in advertising. Nobody pursues them anyway, because there's nothing there to pursue." While the Turner Prize establishment satisfied itself with weak conceptual homages to authentic iconoclasts like Duchamp and Manzoni, it spurned original talents such as Beryl Cook (1926–2008). The award ceremony has since 2000 attracted annual demonstrations by the "
Stuckists Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.figurative art Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork (particularly paintings and sculptures) that is clearly derived from real object sources and so is, by definition, representational. The term is often in contrast to abstract ...
and
aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...
authenticity. Observing wryly that "the only artist who wouldn't be in danger of winning the Turner Prize is Turner", the Stuckists staged in 2000 a "Real Turner Prize 2000" exhibition, promising (by contrast) "no rubbish".


20th century: gallery

File:GirlsRunning Steer.jpg, Philip Wilson Steer's ''Girls Running, Walberswick Pier''; 1888–94. File:Spencer Gore Balcony at the Alhambra 1910-11.jpg, Spencer Gore's ''Balcony at the
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of ...
''; 1910–11. File:Gilman leeds market.jpg,
Harold Gilman Harold John Wilde Gilman (11 February 187612 February 1919) was a British painter of interiors, portraits and landscapes, and a founder-member of the Camden Town Group. Early life and studies Harold John Wilde Gilman was the second son and ...
's ''Leeds market''; c. 1913. File:BrightonPierrotsWalterSickert.jpg,
Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...
's ''
Brighton Pierrots ''Brighton Pierrots'' is a 1915 painting by Walter Sickert that depicts an outdoor theatrical performance. It is an oil on canvas measuring 63.5 x 76.2 cm and is in the Tate Britain. In the painting, the Pierrots are seen from the side and ...
''; 1915. File:Mark Gertler - Merry-Go-Round - Google Art Project.jpg, Mark Gertler's ''
Merry-Go-Round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round ( international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in SA) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular ...
''; 1916. File:We are Making a New World Art.IWMART1146.jpg, Paul Nash's '' We are Making a New World''; 1918. File:Sappers at work - Canadian Tunnelling Company, R14, St Eloi Art.IWMART2708.jpg, David Bomberg's ''Sappers at Work: Canadian Tunnelling Company, R14, St Eloi''; 1918. File:A Battery Shelled Art.IWMART2747.jpg, Wyndham Lewis's ''
A Battery Shelled ''A Battery Shelled'' is a 1919 painting by the English artist Wyndham Lewis. It depicts a scene from the Western Front of World War I. It was commissioned for the proposed Hall of Remembrance. Description A number of men are seen working and ...
''; 1919. File:Patients waiting Outside a First Aid Post in a Factory Art.IWMARTLD2683.jpg,
Ruskin Spear Ruskin Spear, CBE, RA (30 June 1911 – 17 January 1990) was an English painter and teacher of art, regarded as one of the foremost British portrait painters of his day. Born in Hammersmith, Spear attended the local art school before going ...
's ''Patients waiting Outside a First Aid Post in a Factory''; 1942. File:Recruit's Progress- Medical Inspection Art.IWMARTLD2909.jpg, Carel Weight's ''Recruit's Progress''; 1942. File:Shipbuilding on the Clyde, The Furnaces (Art.IWM ART LD 5871).jpg,
Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the sma ...
's ''Shipbuilding on the Clyde: The Furnaces''; 1946. File:Going to Work - L S Lowry.jpg, L. S. Lowry's ''Going to Work''; 1959. File:Coventry Cathedral interior - geograph.org.uk - 291162.jpg, Graham Sutherland's Christ tapestry in the rebuilt
Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The cur ...
; 1962. File:Barbara Hepworth Geograph-685325-by-Fractal-Angel.jpg,
Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a lea ...
's '' Four-Square (Walk Through)''; 1966.


21st century

The sculptor
Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; '' Another ...
(b. 1950) expressed doubts a decade after winning the Turner Prize about his "usefulness to the human race", and work including '' Another Place'' (2005) and '' Event Horizon'' (2012) has achieved both acclaim and popularity. The pseudo-subversive
urban art Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
of Banksy, has been much discussed in the media. A highly visible and much praised work of public art, seen for a brief period in 2014 was ''
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red ''Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red'' was a public art installation created in the moat of the Tower of London, England, between July and November 2014. It commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of World War I and consisted of 888,246 cerami ...
'', a collaboration between artist
Paul Cummins Paul Cummins MBE (born 26 September 1977) is an English artist from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, who produces landscape installations using ceramic flowers. Education / work Cummins worked as a maker of architectural models, and then studied ce ...
(b. 1977) and theatre designer
Tom Piper Thomas Stephen Towry Piper MBE (born 24 November 1964) is a British theatre designer who regularly collaborates with director Michael Boyd. He became an associate designer with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2004. Early life Tom Piper was born ...
. The installation at the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
between July and November 2014 commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of World War I; it consisted of 888,246
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...
red poppies, each intended to represent one British or Colonial serviceman killed in the War. Leading contemporary printmakers include Norman Ackroyd and Richard Spare.


English art on display

*
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
* Delaware Art Museum *
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
* National Portrait Gallery *
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
*
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
*
Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...
* Yale Center for British Art


See also

*
Art of the United Kingdom The Art of the United Kingdom refers to all forms of visual art in or associated with the United Kingdom since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and encompasses English art, Scottish art, Welsh art and Irish art, and form ...
*
Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...
* British art * English underground *
Insular art Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...
*
List of British painters The following is a list of notable English and British painters (in chronological order). English painters Born 16th century *George Gower (c. 1540–1596) *Nicolas Hilliard (1547–1619) *Sir Nathaniel Bacon (1585–1627) *Cornelis Jansse ...
*
Museums in England Museums in England is a link page for any museum in England by ceremonial county. In 2011 there were around 1,600 museums in England. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is the national development agency for museums in England, and is ...
* Neo-romanticism *
Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...


Further reading

* David Bindman (ed.), ''The
Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...
Encyclopaedia of British Art'' (London, 1985) *Joseph Burke, ''English Art, 1714–1800'' (Oxford, 1976) * William Gaunt, ''A Concise History of English Painting'' (London, 1978) *William Gaunt, ''The Great Century of British Painting: Hogarth to Turner'' (London, 1971)
Nikolaus Pevsner, ''The Englishness of English Art'' (London, 1956)
*William Vaughan, ''British Painting: The Golden Age from Hogarth to Turner'' (London, 1999) * Ellis Waterhouse, ''Painting in Britain, 1530-1790'', 4th Edn, 1978, Penguin Books (now Yale History of Art series)


References

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