Overview

Laden with works of art acquired by young British travelers on the Grand Tour in Italy, the British merchant ship Westmorland sailed from the Italian port of Livorno before being captured by French naval vessels and escorted to Malaga in southern Spain. The artistic treasures on board were purchased by King Carlos III of Spain, and the majority were deposited in the collections of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. There they resided, unknown, until recent research, using original inventories that survive in the Academia's archives, identified the Westmorland's rich cargo. The English Prize reveals the gripping story of the ship's capture and the disposition of its artistic contents, which included Raphael Mengs's Perseus and Andromeda, Pompeo Batoni's portraits of Frances Bassett and Lord Lewisham, and watercolors by John Robert Cozens. This volume illuminates the cultural phenomenon of the Grand Tour and the young travelers who acquired the trove of books and art works on board the Westmorland but were never able to enjoy their purchases. Published in association with the Yale Center for British Art, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, and the Real Academia de Belles Artes de San Fernando, Madrid Exhibition Schedule: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford(05/09/12-08/29/12) Yale Center for British Art (10/03/12-01/20/13)

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9780300176056

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Winner of the 2013 Historians of British Art Book Prize for the Multi-authored category. -- Historians of British Art Book Prize * Historians of British Art * Part adventure tale, part detective story, and completely engaging . . . a visual treat . . . illuminating. -The Magazine Antiques * The Magazine Antiques *

Winner of the 2013 Historians of British Art Book Prize for the Multi-authored category.--Historians of British Art Book Prize Historians of British Art (01/21/2014)

Author Information

María Dolores Sánchez-Jáuregui Alpañés is the lead scholar in the Westmorland research project. Scott Wilcox is chief curator of art collections at the Yale Center for British Art.

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