Mark Akenside (1721–1770) was a medical doctor and literary man whose influence on the history of ideas was profound. Born the son of a butcher in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1721 Mark Akenside was awarded a degree in medicine from Edinburgh and Leyden Universities. He settled in London in 1743 where he was successful both as a doctor and in medical research. Above all, he was the author of The Pleasures of Imagination1744, an epic length poem in blank verse which broke many conventions of the time, exploring ideas about human perception and the natural world. Akenside had a European reputation and became a national celebrity. He was a major influence on first- and second-generation Romantic poets such as Wordsworth, Keats, Coleridge, etc. He also made an impact on the development of landscape painting in the early 19th century through his influence on J.M.W. Turner. This book examines these issues, as well as the controversy and speculation about Akenside's relationship with his origins, his sexuality, and changing political affiliations in a period of economic crisis and great social change.
Laura Knight (1877-1970) was one of the most distinguished women artists of the early 20th century with an international reputation. This much-anticipated biography appears at a time of renewed interest in Dame Laura's extensive repertoire. Laura Knight: A Life probes beneath the myths and fictions that have and continue to be woven around the artist. This highly readable and objective biography covers her early years in Nottingham; relationship with her husband Harold; life in the artists colonies of Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast, Laren in Holland and Newlyn in Cornwall; Laura's subsequent immersion in the worlds of the ballet, the circus, the theatre and her travels in Europe and America; her work as a designer of theatrical costume, posters and ceramics; and her role as Official War Artist during World War 11 and recorder of the Nuremberg Trials in 1945-46. The author does more than merely draw the solid lines of Dame Laura's professional and public identity for the reader, she fills in the background, expresses the light and colour of Laura Knight's vibrant personality and, by also exploring the darker shades of her character, gives this portrait of the artist depth and perspective. If you read just one biography of Laura Knight it should be this one.
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