William Etty: Drawings and Paintings
- ISBN-10
- 1981692452
- ISBN-13
- 9781981692453
- Series
- William Etty
- Pages
- 78
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2017-12-13
- Author
- Raya Yotova
Description
William Etty was the first significant British painter of nudes and still lifes. Etty earned respect at the Royal Academy of Arts for his ability to paint realistic flesh tones, but had little commercial or critical success in his early years in London.He was commercially successful and critically acclaimed, and in 1828 was elected a Royal Academician, at the time the highest honor available to an artist. Although he was one of the most respected artists in the country he continued to study at life classes throughout his life, a practice considered inappropriate by his fellow artists. An extremely shy man, Etty rarely socialized and never married. From 1824 until his death he lived with his niece Elizabeth Etty. Even in London he retained a keen interest in his native York, and was instrumental in the establishment of the town's first art school and the campaign to preserve York city walls. While he never formally converted from his Methodist faith, he was deeply attached to the Roman Catholic Church and was one of the few non-Catholics to attend the 1838 opening of Augustus Pugin's chapel for St Mary's College, Oscott.Etty was prolific and commercially successful throughout the 1840s, but the quality of his work deteriorated throughout this period. As his health progressively worsened he retired to York in 1848. He died in 1849, shortly after a major retrospective exhibition. In the immediate aftermath of his death his works became highly collectable and sold for large sums. Changing tastes meant his work later fell out of fashion, and imitators soon abandoned his style. By the end of the 19th century the value of all of his works had fallen below their original prices, and outside his native York he remained little known throughout the 20th century.
