Books by Alex Kidson

This collection of writings by specialists from many disciplines explores a range of topics relating to English painter George Romney (1734-1802). The contributors address not only Romney's personality and artistic practice, but also key themes in his work and aspects of its cultural context.

"This magnificent catalogue, in three volumes and with nearly 2,000 illustrations, will restore George Romney (1734-1802) to his long-overdue position - with his contemporaries Reynolds and Gainsborough - as a master of 18th-century British portrait painting. The product of impressive and thorough research undertaken over the course of 20 years, Alex Kidson asserts Romney's status as one of the greatest British painters, whose last catalogue raisonne was published over 100 years ago. In more than 1,800 entries, many supported by new photography, Kidson aims to solve longstanding issues of attribution, distinguishing genuine pictures by Romney from works whose traditional attribution to him can no longer be supported. The author's insights are guided by rich primary source material on Romney--including account books, ledgers, and sketchbooks--as well as secondary sources such as prints after lost works, newspaper reports and reviews, and writings by Romney's contemporaries"--