Alderman Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery

4 October–26 November 1978

Alderman Boydell, 18th century British patron and publisher, collected and commissioned Shakespearean-themed paintings from England’s most prominent artists. The original paintings by Benjamin West, Henry Fuseli, George Romney, Joshua Reynolds, and Angelika Kauffmann, among others, were copied as engravings and sold by subscription to middle-class Britons. The original paintings hung in his Shakespeare Gallery in London until it was forced into foreclosure and the original paintings were dispersed. Thirty of the engravings were on display in the exhibition at the Smart Museum as the result of an anonymous gift. Speakers who delivered lectures during the exhibition included Edward A. Maser, Smart Director, and David Bevington and W.J.T. Mitchell, both of the Department of English, University of Chicago.

Catalogue by Richard Hutton and Laura Nelke, Ph.D. candidates in the Department of Art History

Share this:
The University of Chicago smARTKids