William Dobson: 1611-46

Artist: William Dobson 
Author: Malcolm Rogers 
Publisher: National Portrait Gallery 
Date: 1983 
Condition: Some very minor sunning to a thin strip along back cover spine edge, otherwise a very clean and tidy copy

And now for something completely different!

Although the majority of our books cover the twentieth century and more specifically Modern British art, that doesn't mean an interesting volume from an earlier period doesn't enthuse us.

This catalogue, now quite hard to find, accompanied the 1983 NPG exhibition on William Dobson, the short-lived but wonderfully talented painter of that unsettled period before and during the English Civil War.

Only 35 at his death in 1646, Dobson's work is rare but his portraits, like those of his contemporary Anthony Van Dyck, depict a very particular style and presentation in formal portraiture

Called "the first British born genius, the first truly dazzling English painter" by Waldemar Januszczak, Dobson is someone well worth looking at for those interested in the period.

This catalogue is full of useful information and although largely illustrated in black and white, it includes a biographical essay on Dobson by esteemed art historian and museum director Malcolm Rogers as well as very complete notes to the individual exhibits.

An essential catalogue for anyone interested in the art made in Britain in the first half of the c17th and particularly the years around the English Civil War.