I have been looking at amateur artist’s sketchbooks here at YCBA. I am looking to see if artist’s visited Derbyshire and if so, where they went and what they drew. Some of the sketchbooks are catalogued as containing Derbyshire views (like William Brockedon’s sketchbook), while others are simply documented as an ‘Album of 84 drawings’ or ‘4 volumes of landscapes’.
One thing that has become apparent from looking at the 19th century sketchbooks is the popularity of the Lake District. This is mirrored by what was going on at the Royal Academy in the late 18th century, where Lake District views significantly outnumbered those of Derbyshire e.g Philip de Loutherbourg exhibited 9 landscapes in 1784, of which 7 were of the Lakes and 2 of Derbyshire.
In a letter to his brother Richard, Joseph Wright describes the Lakes ‘as the most stupendous scenes, I ever behold… they are to…
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justaukcook
An Ashbourne Voice 