Something a little different on Northernreader today – Northernvicar writes a review of a non fiction book (and he knows his stuff, so I have just edited it…)

David Stacey, Art and Industry, Seven artists in search of an Industrial Revolution in Britain

This attractive and informative book is by a Civil Engineer with a degree in the History of Art, and I found it fascinating. The seven artists are Joseph Wright, John Opie, Phillippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, Penry Williams, William Havell, JMW Turner, and Henry Hawkins.

It covers the period between 1750 and 1830, and is a well-illustrated discussion of the work of seven artists and where their work fits in with the huge changes the country was undergoing. Stacy builds on the post-War work of Francis Klingender, through to Celina Fox writing in the last decade, and discusses many of the influences on Art, both those from the Continent…