Exhibitions:

  • Title: Paintings by Joseph Wright, A.R.A., commonly called "Wright of Derby", together with some Original Drawings, and a Complete Collection of Prints after his Works
    Venue: Derby Corporation Art Gallery
    Dates: from 15/04/1883 to 15/04/1883
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby
    Venue: Norwich Castle Museum
    Dates: from 03/01/1959 to 01/02/1959
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: An Exhibition to Commemorate the Centenary of Derby Museums and Art Gallery
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 21/04/1979 to 21/07/1979
  • Title: Wright of Derby
    Venue: Tate Gallery
    Dates: from 15/04/1990 to 15/04/1990
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734-1797: Bicentenary Exhibition
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 21/06/1997 to 28/09/1997
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby in Liverpool
    Venue: Walker Art Gallery
    Dates: from 17/11/2007 to 24/02/2008
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Bath and Beyond
    Venue: The Holburne Museum of Art
    Dates: from 25/01/2014 to 05/05/2014
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Bath and Beyond (2)
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 24/05/2014 to 31/08/2014
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Life on Paper
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 23/05/2025 to 07/09/2025
  • Title: Wright of Derby: From the Shadows
    Venue: National Gallery
    Dates: from 07/11/2025 to 01/11/2026

Publications

  • Title: Wright of Derby
    Published Place: London
    Copyright: The Tate Gallery
    Published Year: 1990
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of Light
    Sub-Title: Volume 1
    Volume: 1
    Published Place: London
    Copyright: Benedict Nicolson, 1968
    Published Year: 1968
  • Title: Joseph Wright's Pastel 'Portrait of a Woman'
    Sub-Title: Part I: A Survey of the Drawings of Joseph Wright
    Published Place: New York
    Published Year: 2009

Related People

  • Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)

    Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Artist.

Self-Portrait in a Black Feathered Hat

Date: c. 1770 - 1773

Medium: Pastels on blue paper.

Object Type:Drawing
Dimensions:Support: 533 × 368 mm (21 × 14 1/2 in.)
Description:'He was so handsome and pleasant that he was generally admired' wrote Wright's niece1. In this self-portrait of c.1767-70 Wright has certainly made the most of his best feature, his 'prominent and expressive' 2 eyes, so described by his friend and patron, John Leigh Philips, who was most probably one time owner of this self portrait. The 1814 sale catalogue describes the work as depicting Wright in 'Fancy Dress', a term which belies the seriousness of the study. The artist unarguably pictures himself in the most flattering of costumes. The soft black feathers which emerge from the shadows, frame and highlight the face, while the sensuous folds of velvet echo the soft skin tones. In his use of exotic costume, and in the dramatic chiaroscuro, skilfully mastered in charcoal and chalk, Wright pays homage to earlier traditions of self-portraiture, notably that of Rembrandt. The image Wright presents is of a melancholy, proto-Romantic figure, not untrue to our knowledge of him as a somewhat depressive man who struggled with illness for many years. 1 p.8 Memoirs of H Wright 1850 DPL 2 Judy Egerton, 'Joseph Wright of Derby, Self Portrait - a Fur Cap.' The Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, vol.18, no.2, 1992. Medium changed from 'Charcoal and chalk on paper' to 'pastel', as recommended by Elizabeth Barker and Marjorie Shelley (see: Barker, E. "Joseph Wright's Pastel 'Portrait of a Woman' Part I: A Survey of the Drawings of Joseph Wright", Metropolitan Museum Journal, 44, 2009, p.96, note 1).
Provenance:Not recorded in Wright's Account Book; offered in the post-humous sale of Wright’s friend and patron, John Leigh Philips at Winstanley & Taylor, Manchester, 31 October 1814 (lot 51, as ‘Portrait of himself in fancy dress. Capital’) and purchased by ‘Boulton £4.4.0; …; with William Bemrose, the husband of one of Wright’s direct descendants, by 1883; …; with a client of Frost and Reed of Bristol, from whom purchased by Derby Museums in 1953. Note that this object has an incomplete provenance for the years 1933-1945.
Viewing Status:Contact Us
Item Ref:1953-186
Browse Collection
Browse Collection