Thomas Jones (1742-1803): An Artist Rediscovered

This book is the catalogue for a major exhibition celebrating the bicentenary of Thomas Jones's death. The exhibition has been organised by the National Museums & Galleries of Wales, in conjunction with the National Gallery, London, and the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester.

Publishers Weekly

In his own lifetime, Welsh landscape painter Jones fell out of circulation due to the perennial caprices: art-world politics, changing tastes, personal finances, lost and damaged works. Happily, his overlooked career offers a singular pleasure-its rediscovery. In connection with the bicentenary of Jones's death and a major exhibition, curator Sumner and scholar Smith have compiled an extensive catalogue of the 18th-century artist's work, including erudite essays that closely examine Jones's trajectory, from apprenticeship with famed painter Richard Wilson to plein-air travels in Italy to his final years in Wales, and his technique: virtuoso paint-handling, precise underdrawing, experimental perspectives and a distinctly warm palette. More compelling than the well-documented text are the reproductions, revealing the evolution of Jones's style and subject matter, as it moved from grand classical themes to small-scale panoramas to humble rooftop laundry lines. The sharply cropped compositions of the artist's Neapolitan oil sketches in particular suggest an innovative, modernist eye, "a proto-photographic presence." For the uninitiated, the book provides a comprehensive introduction to a fresh talent; for the landscape enthusiast, it is an overdue affirmation. 50 b&w and 150 color reproductions. (July 23) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.