Page:Cyclopedia of painters and paintings (IA cyclopediaofpain04cham).pdf/471
WRIGHT, GEORGE FREDERICK, born in Washington, Conn., Dec. 19, 1828, died in Hartford, Jan. 29, 1881. Portrait painter; after studying in a studio and in the life school of the National Academy in New York, he settled in Hartford and painted portraits for five years; then studied two years in Europe, chiefly in Munich under Albert Gräfle, but partly in Rome. He painted at various times at Springfield, Ill., and in other Western and Southern cities, but worked principally in Hartford, Conn. Among his portraits are many of the governors and other prominent men of Illinois and of Connecticut, and he was one of the first, if not the first, to paint Abraham Lincoln. He was an excellent colourist.
WRIGHT, JOSEPH (Wright of Derby),
born at Derby, England, Sept. 3, 1734, died
there, Aug. 29, 1797. Went in 1751 to London,
and studied under Thomas Hudson, the
master of Reynolds; became at first a portrait
painter, but afterwards devoted himself
chiefly to landscape and genre subjects.
Was in Italy in 1773-75, and made many
sketches of flame effects, especially in an
eruption of Vesuvius, and with lights in the
caves at Capri. In 1775 he became a student
in the Royal Academy; in 1781 he was
elected an A.R.A., and in 1784 R.A., but declined,
though he continued to send pictures
to the exhibitions. In landscape he
was almost equal to Richard Wilson, and in
portraiture he was a near rival of Gainsborough.
Works: The Air-Pump (1765), National
Gallery, London; The Orrery, Corporation
of Derby; The Alchemist; The
Forge; Miravan; Girl with Doves; Boys
with a Bladder, William D. James, Esq.;
The Gladiator; The Captive; Old Man and
Death, Sir Henry Wilmot, Bart.; Edwin
(Beattie's "Minstrel"), Lord Houghton;
Maria (Sterne's "Sentimental Journey"),
William Bemrose, Esq.; Antigonus in the
Storm ("Winter's Tale"), Haskett Smith;
Eruption of Vesuvius; Belshazzar's Feast;
Head of Ulleswater; Dead Soldier.—Redgrave;
Ch. Blanc, École anglaise; Art Journal
(1883), 205; Wm. Bemrose, Life of Joseph
Wright (London, 1886).
WRIGHT, JOSEPH, born at Bordentown,
N. J., July 16, 1756, died in New
York in 1793. Portrait painter; taken in
1772 by his mother, a noted wax-modeller,
to London, where he was aided by Benjamin
West and by John Hoppner, who married
his sister. He visited Paris in 1782, and
returned to America the following year and
painted General and Mrs. Washington for
Comte de Solms. In 1787 he lived in New
York, but in 1790 he followed Congress to
Philadelphia, and in 1792 was appointed die-*sinker
to the newly-established mint. He
painted Mr. Madison and other noted men.
Work: Portrait of John Jay (1786), Historical
Society, New York.—Dunlap, i. 312.
WRIGHT, JOSEPH MICHAEL, born in
Scotland about 1625, died in London about
1700. Pupil of George Jamesone; went to
England when about sixteen years old, and
soon won reputation as a portrait painter;
afterwards lived several years in Italy, and
was elected in 1648 a member of the Academy
of St. Luke, Florence. Painted many
persons of distinction, among them Prince
Rupert and the Judges of Guildhall. At
Hampton Court is a portrait by him of
Lacy the actor (1675). His nephew, of the
same name, was educated in Rome and became
a famous portrait painter in Ireland.—Redgrave.
WRIGHT, RUFUS, born in Cleveland,
O., in 1832. Portrait and genre painter,
pupil of the National Academy and of
George A. Baker in New York. Has painted
in New York, Washington, and Brooklyn;
elected member of the Brooklyn Academy
in 1866. Ideal works: Inventor and
the Banker, Morning Bouquet (1876); Thank
you, Sir! (1877); Concerned for his Sole
(1878); Feeding the Birds (1880); Portraits
of Chief Justice Taney, Secretaries Seward
and Stanton, Isaac H. Read, and others.
WTE-WAEL. See Uitewael.
WUCHTERS (Wugters), ABRAHAM,
born in Holland about 1610-15, died at So-