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tasmanian_bibliophile's review
‘Dempsey’s people are a small but profound addition to the canon of British art.’
I was fortunate to attend this exhibition, at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. (https://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibitions/dempseys-people-2017)
of 52 street portraits made by the itinerant English painter John Dempsey between 1824 and 1844. In reading about the exhibition, my attention was caught by the fact that many of the portraits were from the collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and had not previously been exhibited. I’ve since read that David Hansen’s chance discovery of a set of watercolour portraits over 20 years ago was the starting point.
‘It is sadly ironic that this John Dempsey, who preserved for us the names and identities of so
many of the otherwise unremembered, is himself an obscure, shadowy figure.’
The publication of this book, in full-colour, accompanied the exhibition. It would be of interest to both social historians as well as art historians. These incredibly detailed images (we viewed some detail with the help of magnifying glasses provided by the NPG) are of English street people. These are people who may appear in the novels of Charles Dickens but otherwise are generally ignored by history. It’s interesting to think about the work of itinerant painters such as John Dempsey, about his painting of recognisably local figures from the streets as a means of advertising his skills to paying customers.
‘John Dempsey died in early 1877, aged 74.’
I enjoyed both the exhibition and this book as a record of it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I was fortunate to attend this exhibition, at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. (https://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibitions/dempseys-people-2017)
of 52 street portraits made by the itinerant English painter John Dempsey between 1824 and 1844. In reading about the exhibition, my attention was caught by the fact that many of the portraits were from the collection of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and had not previously been exhibited. I’ve since read that David Hansen’s chance discovery of a set of watercolour portraits over 20 years ago was the starting point.
‘It is sadly ironic that this John Dempsey, who preserved for us the names and identities of so
many of the otherwise unremembered, is himself an obscure, shadowy figure.’
The publication of this book, in full-colour, accompanied the exhibition. It would be of interest to both social historians as well as art historians. These incredibly detailed images (we viewed some detail with the help of magnifying glasses provided by the NPG) are of English street people. These are people who may appear in the novels of Charles Dickens but otherwise are generally ignored by history. It’s interesting to think about the work of itinerant painters such as John Dempsey, about his painting of recognisably local figures from the streets as a means of advertising his skills to paying customers.
‘John Dempsey died in early 1877, aged 74.’
I enjoyed both the exhibition and this book as a record of it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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