19 rooms in Walk Through British Art
This is a time of profound change: of civil war, regicide, and political revolution. New ideas are born and new kinds of art flourish
Civil war breaks out in 1642, culminating in the trial and execution of Charles I and a decade of Puritan rule under Oliver Cromwell. After Cromwell’s death, the monarchy is restored in 1660 and Charles II becomes king. Some of the most talented artists thrive amid this turmoil, such as Peter Lely, an official portraitist to royals and republicans alike. Other artists fall in and out of favour as the world around them is reshaped.
Across the globe, England’s colonial interests expand with the conquest of Ireland and Jamaica, and the Anglo-Mughal War signals growing ambitions in India. The Hudson’s Bay Company challenges French dominance in parts of North America, while the Royal African Company formalises the early transatlantic slave trade. At home, the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688 gives birth to party politics, and the Act of Union between England and Scotland creates The Kingdom of Great Britain.
As Britain and the world undergo these changes, there are also changes in store for artists. A new middle class now have enough money to buy paintings, while commercial exchanges in taverns and coffee houses offer new ways for art to be traded. Artists from the Low Countries introduce new genres to appeal to this growing audience, such as landscape, still life, natural history and battle painting. There are also more British born painters, fuelling arguments for a new ‘British school’ of art. For the very first time, these include successful professional women painters, most notably Mary Beale.
Art in this room
Sorry, no image available
You've viewed 6/19 artworks
You've viewed 19/19 artworks