Edwardian Portraits: Images of the Age of Opulence [Hardcover]

Kenneth McConkey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1987

Records a wealthy society's desire to immortalise itself in fabulous self-portraits. It found artists who succeeded brilliantly and this book, the only one devoted to the subject, records both the sitters and the work of the artists.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Antique Collectors Club Ltd (November 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851490604
• ISBN-13: 978-1851490608
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,568,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Tradition of Portraiture Brimming With Personality, July 3, 2010

By 

Theseus "theseus" (US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edwardian Portraits: Images of the Age of Opulence (Hardcover)

Handsome and well-produced book from ACC: hardback, cloth over boards with gold details in dustjacket. 263 pp; 2.75 pounds. Preface, Introduction, Bibliography, Index.

About 225 illustrations in color and b&w, all of them full-page. Each illustration is supported by a detailed discussion of the formal qualities of the painting, some history of the subject and/or a discussion of what the painter has achieved. The most prominent portrait painters from 1880 to 1920 appear (Whistler, Sargeant) along with many less-well known names (Sickert, Greaves, Steer, Yule, Orpen, McEvoy, and many more.)

"It may seem surprising that at the precise period when the camera became widely available, portrait painting rose to new heights. However, in an era of luxury and opulence, those who patronized the leading painters expected their portraits to emphasize qualities which photography could not easily convey."

Consequently, the images here are vital, lively, painterly, and feature compositions which -- given the traditional limitations of portraiture -- are rather ambitious.

I was quite enthusiastic to see the rather wide range of styles employed here. French influences have clearly snuck into the brains of some of these painters while other images seem firmly rooted in post-Impressionistic aesthetics. There's so much more to see here than the rosy-cheeked angel faces of young women from good families!