The Private Lives of Pictures: Art at Home in Britain, 1800-1940

(Hardback)

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Description

A novel art history of England told through the artworks on display in domestic space over hundreds of years.

The Private Lives of Pictures offers a new history of British art, seen from the perspective of the home. Focusing on the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century, the book takes the reader on a tour of an imaginary Victorian or Edwardian house, stopping in each room to look at the pictures on the walls. The book opens up the intimate history of art in everyday life, and examines many issues including how pictures were chosen for each room, how they were displayed, and what role they played in interior design. Superbly illustrated, The Private Lives of Pictures appeals to readers interested in both art and social history, and the history of interiors.

Reviews

"The Private Lives of Pictures explores the challenges, assumptions, and expectations brought to bear on the sudden influx of pictures on private walls. The subject is so rich that it is remarkable it has not been substantially discussed to date . . . a convivial tour through a representative, and predominantly middle-class, parlor, dining room, drawing room, bedroom and nursery (via many corridors and stairs), Tromans suggests that pictures served different functions in different places . . . [the book] offers a provocative new approach to the history of art and interiors."-- "Apollo Magazine"
"With its impressive range of references from the worlds of art, design, literature and popular culture--from Joshua Reynolds to Abigail's Party--The Private Lives of Pictures offers its readers a sustained and eloquent reflection on the complex and key roles played by pictures in late nineteenth-century domestic interiors."--Penny Sparke, professor of design history, Kingston University London, author of "The Modern Interior"

Author Bio

Nicholas Tromans has written widely on nineteenth-century British art, including books on David Wilkie, Orientalist painting, G. F. Watts, Richard Dadd and (with Susan Owens) Christina Rossetti and the visual arts. He lives in London.