The story of George Romney: builder, salesman, crusader

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George Romney, 1734-1802

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This handsome catalogue, which accompanies a major international exhibition commemorating the bicentennial of George Romney's death, offers the first in-depth modern overview of a key figure in eighteenth-century British art. Romney was the main rival of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough--and for much of his career more fashionable than either. A century ago, collectors fought to buy the portraits he created with a distinctive mix of elegance, mannerism, and informality; especially popular were those of Emma Hart (later the notorious Lady Hamilton), who became his favorite model and muse. Romney's chief ambition, however, was to succeed as a history painter, and he made countless drawings for literary and mythological pictures that he never had time to paint. These drawings, executed with a spontaneity and dramatic expressiveness that have appealed to many modern artists, mark Romney as one of the first Romantics.

Reproducing over two hundred works, this is the most generously illustrated volume on Romney to date. In a major departure from earlier treatments, the book devotes equal attention to his drawings and his paintings, persuasively demonstrating how interdependent the two media were in his art. Alex Kidson has written an invitingly personal, intriguingly speculative text, in which Romney emerges as one of the most brilliant and inventive artists of his time. From now on, any serious consideration of his work must begin with this book.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

February 8, 2002-April 21, 2002

The National Portrait Gallery, London

May 30, 2002-August 18, 2002

The Huntington Art Gallery, San Marino, California

September 15, 2002-December 1, 2002

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A Striking Likeness: The Life of George Romney

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In their stunning simplicity, George Romney's portraits of the 18th century gentry and their children, many in flowing classically inspired gowns, are among the most widely recognized creations of the age. A rival to Reynolds and Gainsborough, Romney was born in the Lake District but moved to London in 1762, where there was an insatiable market for portraits of the landed gentry to fill the elegant picture galleries of their country houses. His sitters included William Beckford and Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton. This biography explores the full diversity of his oeuvre.

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The Real Romney

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Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he’s become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smile? He often seems to be two people at once: a savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating dealmaker. A man comfortable in his faith and with family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters.

In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, readers will finally discover the real Romney. The book explores Romney’s personal life, his bond with his wife and how they handled her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, and his difficult years as a Mormon missionary in France, where a fatal car crash had a profound effect on his path. It also illuminates Romney’s privileged upbringing in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; his rejection of the 1960s protest culture; and his close but complicated relationship with his father.

Based on more than five years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, The Real Romney includes a probing analysis of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, where staggering profits were won through leveraged buyouts that helped create jobs but also destroyed them. This penetrating portrait offers important new details, too, on Romney’s failed Senate race against Ted Kennedy, his role leading the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics, and his championing of universal health care in Massachusetts. Drawing on previously undisclosed campaign memos, e-mails, and interviews with key players, Kranish and Helman reveal the infighting and disagreement that sunk Romney’s 2008 White House bid—and his conscious decision to switch tactics for his 2012 run.

In The Real Romney, Kranish and Helman delve searchingly into the psyche of a complex man now at his most critical juncture—the private Romney whom few people see. They show the remarkable lengths to which Romney has gone in order to succeed in politics and business, shrewdly shifting identities as needed, bringing tough-minded strategy to every decision, and always carefully safeguarding his public image. For the first time, readers will gain a full understanding of the kind of man Romney is—the kind of man who may be running their country.

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Memoirs Of The Life And Works Of George Romney (1830)

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This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

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Those Delightful Regions of Imagination: Essays on George Romney

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This collection of writings by specialists from many disciplines explores a wide range of topics relating to English painter George Romney (1734-1802). The contributors to the book address not only Romney's personality and artistic practice, but also aspects of the cultural context of his work, such as its relation to the theatre and its diffusion through prints. Key essays discuss the central themes of the artist's work, his rivalry with Sir Joshua Reynolds, and his painting technique. Alex Kidson offers in the introduction a survey of previous writings about Romney and their impact on the artist's reputation two centuries after his death.

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