Rarely seen Joseph Wright paintings are unveiled at Derby Museum and Art Gallery

The paintings, A Girl Reading a Letter with an Old Man Reading over her Shoulder and Two Boys Fighting Over A Bladder are on long-term loan to Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

Both works of art come from a private UK collection and have only been seen fleetingly on four previous occasions.

Wright, who was born and raised in Derby, is widely regarded as one of Britain’s most compelling 18th century painters and is known throughout the world for his works depicting different effects of natural and artificial light.

A Girl Reading a Letter with an Old Man Reading over her Shoulder and Two Boys Fighting Over a Bladder are captivating examples of what were known in the 18th century as ‘fancies’. Often depicting children, or young adults, and treated with Wright’s trademark approach to painting light, these subjects proved popular throughout his career.

Derby Museum and Art Gallery is home to the largest collection of Wright’s work in the world.

Lucy Bamford, curator at Derby Museum and Art Gallery said: “These two works enable us to introduce an element of Wright’s work that is otherwise not well represented within Derby Museums’ existing gallery displays. At the same time, it’s revealing to see them within the context of Wright’s other candlelight paintings, such as his famous ‘Orrery’. Together, they give us our clearest glimpse yet of some of Wright’s sources of inspiration: in this case Netherlandish paintings of the 17 th century.

“With the exception of just one painting, at Kenwood House in London, all other examples of Wright’s candlelight fancy pictures are either in private ownership or are found in museums in the USA. The addition of these two works hugely enriches our offering to visitors, making world renowned art accessible to everyone."

Over the past decade the museum’s dedicated team has secured many exceptional pieces by Wright, including the most recent acquisition Self-Portrait at the Age of About Forty, featuring an oil sketch for Wright’s candlelight masterpiece An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768), which was unveiled in May 2022.

Tony Butler, executive director at Derby Museum and Art Gallery says: “We are thrilled to now be the guardians of these two candlelight paintings by Wright and are very grateful to their owner for loaning them to us. To our knowledge both have only been seen publicly just four times at temporary exhibitions held in 1910, 1958, 1990 and 2016, meaning most visitors - and indeed most of the UK - will have never seen these paintings before. Regional museums play a major role of shaping a sense of pride in their towns, cities and communities. Many also hold collections of national significance and Derby is no exception.

“Over the next year we plan to launch a new online catalogue of Wright’s work to make it even more widely available. In 2024 we will be drawing from nearly 400 of his works on paper from our collections to explore his life and work through his drawings. The exhibition will be held in Derby and then available to tour more widely.”

For visiting times, visit: www.derbymuseums.org