This statue of York’s most famous artist stands outside York Art Gallery. William Etty was born in York on March 10th 1787, and died here in October 1849. Although he painted landscapes and portraits he was chiefly known as a painter of nudes, which led to him being criticised in the press for indecency. He was financially successful in his lifetime, and was made an associate of the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1824, defeating John Constable by 18 votes to five.
His statue looks towards Bootham Bar (the three tiny figures on the left sit on top of the bar) which he helped to save from demolition, and also towards York Minster which he described as “so lovely to mine eyes, so dear to my heart, captivating to my imagination”
There is a major exhibition of his work on at York Art Gallery at present, more information at
http://www.yorkartgallery.org.uk/Page/ViewSpecialExhibition.aspx?CollectionId=46
Great shot - lovely silhouettes!
ReplyDeleteI agree with RedPat. A wonderful photo, so moody.
ReplyDeleteI know of a little of his work, an art dealer I know had a couple some years back. Must admit I knew nothing of the statue in York. Also I had thought he had a penchant for nude men, from the couple I had seen.
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