Tag Archives: Thomas Bentley

eureka moments

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Dave

The core of Josiah Wedgwood’s circle was completed by the two who had, perhaps, the greatest worldly success- Matthew Boulton and James Watt- and by the one who has been credited with the least, Wedgwood’s partner, Thomas Bentley. The contrast … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History/Antiquity/Anthropology, Feature Article, Ideas/Opinion | Tagged Anna Seward Swan of Lichfield, Birmingham Riots 1791, Desmond Clarke, Erasmus Darwin, James Eckford Lauder, James Gillray, James Keir, James Watt, Jenny Uglow, John Locke, Joseph Black, Joseph Priestley, Josiah Wedgwood, Lichfield Group, Macquer Dictionary of Chemistry, Matthew Boulton, Mme Verdurin, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Robert E. Schofield, The Lunar Society, Thomas Bentley, Thomas Day, William Rosen author, William Small | Leave a comment

the idiocy and incompetence of it all

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Dave

It was a diverse set of characters that made up the hard-core of Josiah Wedgwood’s circle of friends, including even the fascinating figures on the fringes. They were collectively, the most brilliant group in England and also the most eccentric. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History/Antiquity/Anthropology, Feature Article, Ideas/Opinion | Tagged Dr. Samuel Johnson, Erasmus Darwin, George Morland paintings, James Watt, Jenny Uglow, Johan Zoffany, Josiah Wedgwood, Lichfield Group, Lichfield Group Anna Seward poetess, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, The Lunar Society, Thomas Bentley, Thomas Day Sandford and Merton, Thomas Day The Dying Negro | Leave a comment

chains and chimes of freedom

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Dave

John Howard, friend of the Josiah Wedgwood circle, worked for prison reform, striding through the foul smelling jails of eighteenth-century England, in Erasmus Darwin’s words, “if not to sever, to relax the chains.” They themselves pressed for the abolition of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History/Antiquity/Anthropology, Feature Article, Ideas/Opinion | Tagged Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Desmond Clarke, Erasmus Darwin, James Keir, Jenny Uglow, John Howard prison reform, Joseph Priestley, Kevin Brennan minister, Lichfield Group Anna Seward poetess, Madame Pickwick, madame pickwick art blog, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Robert E. Schofield, The Lunar Society, Thomas Bentley, Thomas Day, Thomas Day The Dying Negro, William Rosen, William Small, William Wilberforce, William Windus | Leave a comment

Darwin: going rogue in the Midlands

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Dave

Josiah Wedgwood’s friends were the most brilliant group in England, and clearly the most eccentric. Most are forgotten today, but some of them changed the world… Thomas Bentley preferred to exercise his charm rather than to regiment his gifts; Anna … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History/Antiquity/Anthropology, Feature Article, Ideas/Opinion | Tagged Anna Seward, Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Wright of Derby paintings, Josiah Wedgwood, Madame Pickwick, madame pickwick art blog, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Thomas Bentley, Thomas Day, Thomas Day Sandford and Merton, William Hackwood | Leave a comment

wedgwood and company: men for all seasons

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Dave

They were the most brilliant group in England, and quite possibly the most eccentric. Some are forgotten today, but some of them changed the world…. Eighteenth century England. Gifted, intelligent, and odd, it was a curious mixture of brilliance and … Continue reading →