John Masey Wright
John Masey Wright (1777–1866) was an English watercolour-painter. He was the son of an organ-builder and was apprenticed to the same business, but, as it proved distasteful to him, he was allowed to follow his natural inclination for art. As a boy he was given the opportunity of watching Thomas Stothard when at work in his studio, but otherwise he was self-taught. About 1810 Wright became associated with Henry Aston Barker, for whose panorama in the Strand he did much excellent work, including the battles of Coruña, Vittoria, and Waterloo.
He was also employed for a time as a scene-painter at the opera-house. But his reputation rests upon his small compositions illustrating Shakespeare and other poets, which were extremely numerous and executed with admirable taste and feeling in the manner of
Personal
Wright was born on Tuesday 14 Oct. 1777 at Pentonville, London, where his father was an organ-builder. He died on Sunday 13 May 1866. He married a Miss Meadows and with her had a son and a daughter.
Gallery
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Mrs. Martha Udney, 1801
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Juliet and the Nurse, c. 1810s
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Mistress Ford and Falstaff, c. 1810s
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Mercutio bidding farewell to Juliet's nurse, c. 1820s
References
- Freeman Marius O'Donoghue, "John Masey Wright" Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 63
- Roget's Hist. of the ‘Old Watercolour’ Society
- Redgrave's Dict. of Artists
- Graves's Dict. of Artists, 1760−1893.
- "Obituary: J. M. Wright", The Art journal, Volume 6; Volume 19; Volume 29, Publisher Virtue and Co., 1867, page 55
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1900). "Wright, John Masey". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 63. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
External links
- "John Masey Wright" by Cundall, Downes & Co, at the National Portrait Gallery
- "John Masey Wright (1777-1866), 'The Return of Olivia" at the Victoria and Albert Museum
- The Troubadour and Richard Cœur de Lion., an engraving by William Humphrys of the painting in The Literary Souvenir annual for 1826, with a poem by Felicia Hemans relating how Richard I. was discovered in captivity by Blondel.
- Fading Flowers., an engraving by Edward Francis Finden of a painting in the Friendship's Offering annual for 1827, with a poem by Felicia Hemans.