The English Prize : The Capture of the Westmorland, an Episode of the Grand Tour available to buy at Museum Bookstore

The English Prize : The Capture of the Westmorland, an Episode of the Grand Tour

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'It’s a tremendous catalogue, and not of the slightly dumbed down modern version, with nice pictures, some essays but no proper entry for each object. A ‘book of the exhibition’ as the husband puts it, rather than a ‘catalogue’. This has all the nice pictures and essay, but a chunky discussion of each piece. Go get!' - TLS

A beautifully illustrated book about the capture of the ship The Westmorland and its cargo of artistic treasures.

Laden with works of art acquired by young British travellers on the Grand Tour in Italy, the British merchant ship Westmorland sailed from the Italian port of Livorno before being captured by French naval vessels and escorted to Malaga in southern Spain. The artistic treasures on board were purchased by King Carlos III of Spain, and the majority were deposited in the collections of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. There they resided, unknown, until recent research, using original inventories that survive in the Academia's archives, identified the Westmorland's rich cargo.

The English Prize reveals the gripping story of the ship's capture and the disposition of its artistic contents, which included Raphael Mengs's Perseus and Andromeda, Pompeo Batoni's portraits of Frances Bassett and Lord Lewisham, and watercolours by John Robert Cozens. This volume illuminates the cultural phenomenon of the Grand Tour and the young travellers who acquired the trove of books and art works on board the Westmorland but were never able to enjoy their purchases.

Winner of the 2013 Historians of British Art Book Prize for the Multi-authored category

Details
  • Authors: Maria Dolores Sanchez-Jauregui Alpanes, lead scholar in the Westmorland research project and Scott Wilcox. chief curator of art collections at the Yale Center for British Art.
  • Hardcover: 400 pages | 350 colour illustrations
  • Date published: May 2012
  • Language: English
  • Delivery: Allow 1-2 weeks
  • ISBN: 978-0300176056
  • Product Dimensions:  30.4 x 24.1 cm

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