05.03.2020, 18:00 P.M.

Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.
FROM GAINSBOROUGH TO GOTHIC NIGHTMARES: Art History in Cost of Revolution

Join Dr. Martin Myrone, Senior Curator of British Art to 1800 at Tate Britain in London, UK, for a presentation exploring the extraordinary life and art of Richard St. George in its art historical context. Myrone will discuss how he identified St. George as the sitter for Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait, previously known to art historians only as An Officer of the 4th Regiment of Foot, on loan to the Museum of the American Revolution from the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia). Re-identifying this striking portrait opened up connections between the historical trauma of the Revolution and the fantastical culture of the Gothic, involving cheap shocks, weird plots, and amateur dramatics.

Image: Special exhibition view of two portraits in Cost of Revolution at Museum of the American Revolution. (left) Richard St. George in 1776, painted by Thomas Gainsborough, just prior to leaving for war in America. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Felton Bequest, 1922; (right) Richard St. George in about 1796, painted by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, mourning at his wife’s tomb, which bears the inscription “NON IMMEMOR” (not forgotten). Credit: National Gallery of Ireland, Purchased, 1992 (part Lane Fund)

Please note, this event is not organised by the Irish Georgian Society. For more information see www.amrevmuseum.org/events

Museum of the American Revolution 101 South Third Street Philadelphia, PA 19106

Link to Special Exhibition: Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier

Tickets

Get tickets by visiting the Museum of the American Revolution events page below.

Buy Tickets