British art of the 18th century

The age of Enlightenment is most closely associated with scientists and inventors, but writers and artists also played major roles. They helped spread enlightenment concepts via the written word and printed image, and inspired others to think rationally about the world in which they lived.

Joshua Reynolds, Syacust Ukah, Gilcrease — This portrait of a Cherokee man was painted during a peace delegation from the Indigenous nation to meet the King of England

Sir Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of Syacust Ukah

by Dr. William Smith and Dr. Steven Zucker

Wedgwood created wares in his Stoke factories for both the masses and the aristocracy, whilst using his designs to support the most morally charged cause of his day – the abolition of slavery.

Josiah Wedgwood: Tycoon of Taste

by HENI Talks

Diallo grid — The life of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, from modern-day Senegal, reveals some of the startling and uncomfortable truths behind the historic slave trade.

A Portrait of Humanity: The Compelling Story ...

by HENI Talks

This vase is made of jasper, a type of unglazed stoneware that can be stained with color before firing, which was perfected by Josiah Wedgwood by 1775 after a number of experiments.

Wedgwood factory, The Pegasus Vase

by The British Museum

delany grid — Mary Delany would cut small pieces of colored paper and stick them on a black background to represent each part of a botanical specimen

Mary Delany and cut flowers

by The British Museum

siddons grid — In picturing Sarah Siddons as the Muse of Tragedy, Sir Joshua Reynolds helped make an argument for women’s equal standing with that of men within the acting profession.

Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mrs. Siddons as the ...

by Michael John Partington

Surveying India with maps was a key tool for colonial and territorial acquisitions for the East India Company in the second half of the 18th century

A map of Kolkata in 1785
by The British Library

Like a phoenix, this church rose from the ashes. Wren’s enormous dome was the first of its kind in England.

Wren, Saint Paul’s Cathedral
by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

This scene resembles a religious conversion, yet the central planetary model is only miraculous in its mechanics.

Joseph Wright of Derby, A Philosopher Giving ...
by Dr. Abram Fox

With its relaxed poses and outdoor setting, this portrait exemplifies the “conversation piece.” But is it finished?

Thomas Gainsborough, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews
by Dr. Abram Fox

This satirical series charts the fall of a womanizer whose decadent lifestyle lands him in debt, then bedlam.

William Hogarth, A Rake’s Progress
by Sophie Harland

Smooth talkers, vain aristocrats, disreputable doctors, unfaithful lovers—Hogarth’s moralizing takes no prisoners.

William Hogarth, Marriage A-la-Mode
by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

What’s with the parrot? Balancing the composition, Reynolds added his own feathery pet to this handsome family.

Sir Joshua Reynolds,Lady Cockburn and Her Three ...
by Pippa Couch and Rachel Ropeik