Discover the city that shaped one of the UK’s most original and visionary painters

Derby Museums is delighted to announce The Year of Wright — a year-long celebration of the life, art, and enduring relevance of Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), one of Britain’s most original and visionary painters.

Derby Museums’ collaboration with The National Gallery, London Joseph Wright: From the Shadows opened in November 2025, and now audiences in London, Derby, and around the world online are invited to rediscover Wright’s art, and his radical curiosity, by taking a closer look at the remarkable city that inspired him – Derby.

Often seen as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, as well as a centre for cultural and scientific innovation, the city formed a key part of Wright’s creative inspiration, and it was in his studio there where his many ideas came together and were committed to canvas. Everyone from academics to artists and first-time museum visitors are invited to discover this iconic 18^th century artist and his world with fresh eyes.

Why Derby? Because there is no Wright without Derby

The city was Wright’s lifelong home, the setting for many of his most famous paintings, and a major centre of the 18th-century scientific and industrial networks that fuelled his imagination.  He was a painter of huge versatility, and it is hoped people will discover or re-discover him as part of the Year of Wright.

Today, the city remains the only place in the world where visitors can experience Wright’s art in the context of his life and world. Derby Museums holds the world’s largest collection of his work – paintings, drawings, letters, and artefacts – that reveal his close friendships with a broad range of people from all walks of life who influenced his thinking and his art. This ranged from thinkers, industrialists and scientists to fellow artists, poets and writers.

Visitors will be able to step into Wright’s Derby through a specially curated weekend itinerary in partnership with Visit Derby, exploring the city’s links to Wright and how it inspired him through vibrant museums, historic architecture, riverside mills, and even a new locally brewed beer inspired by the artist himself. A campaign to encourage visitors to both The National Gallery and Derby Museums will run in 2026. Using images of Wright in unexpected ways it will encourage people to ‘see the bigger picture’ and ‘get up close and personal’ to this sometimes-enigmatic character, through his art and the city he lived in.

‘Derby isn’t just where Wright was born — it’s where his ideas were forged and committed to canvas,’ says Lucy Bamford, Curator at Derby Museums. ‘Wright is known throughout the world for his illusionistic depictions of light and darkness. For many people, these works have come to symbolise a world on the brink of modernity, but they also reveal an artist grappling with enduring and fundamental themes about nature and the human experience.’

‘The ‘Year of Wright’ was inspired by the only known portrait in which Wright shows himself as an artist, Self Portrait at the Age of About Forty (c.1772), which was acquired for the nation by Derby Museums in 2022. Spanning the full breadth of Wright’s life and career, we really hope the activities and exhibitions throughout the year will inspire people to look again at the man behind the paintings, what inspired him and just how versatile and groundbreaking he really was – it is time to take a closer look.’

Highlights of the Year of Wright (2025–2026)

Two major exhibitions in London and Derby

Wright of Derby: From the Shadows
The National Gallery, London: 7 November 2025 – 10 May 2026
Derby Museum and Art Gallery: 13 June – 1 November 2026

The first major exhibition devoted to Wright’s celebrated candlelight paintings, From the Shadows explores and looks again at his most admired works. Seventeen of the twenty works in the show are from Derby Museums’ collections. Illuminated faces gather around a variety of objects – from classical sculptures and scientific instruments to bones, bladders and animals. Through his unflinching scenes of people watching, Wright proposes moral questions about acts of looking. The strong light and deep shadows create drama, reminding us of great painters from earlier centuries like Caravaggio. Curated by Christine Riding (National Gallery) and Lucy Bamford (Derby Museums), the show opened in London this November.

Joseph Wright of Derby: Life on Paper
Derby Museum and Art Gallery: 12 March – 17 May 2026

Reopening by popular demand following an initial presentation in summer 2025, this exhibition includes some of Wright’s earliest known works, made as a young teenager. It also assembles more than 70 of Wright’s, until this year, largely overlooked, personal drawings, sketches and letters, spanning the full breadth of the artist’s life and career. The exhibition is curated by Lucy Bamford (Derby Museums) and it is accompanied by a full illustrated catalogue.

A new discovery for the UK – now on display in Derby

A previously unknown portrait by Wright, found in a family home in the Scottish Borders in 2024, is now on display at Derby Museum and Art Gallery. The painting has been dated c.1760 and depicts the artist’s friend Edward Miller (1735 – 1807), a prominent composer who in his youth played flute in the orchestra of the famous German composer George Frederic Handel. It adds a new dimension to our understanding of Wright’s friendships and artistic network.

Derby Museums’ Senior Curator of Art and the Joseph Wright Collection, Lucy Bamford, worked in partnership with Dr Martin Postle (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art) and Historian Dr Stephen Leach to authenticate the portrait.

The world’s greatest Wright collection – launching early 2026

https://josephwrightofderby.com

For the first time, global audiences will be able to explore Derby Museums’ Joseph Wright Collection — the world’s largest and most comprehensive resource on the artist — entirely free online. Featuring almost 600 objects, from paintings to letters and personal effects, the collection has been digitally catalogued with support from the Paul Mellon Centre, offering unprecedented public access and research opportunities.

Much of the collection can also be viewed in person at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, where there is a gallery dedicated to Wright’s oil paintings, along with a public study room that houses the artist’s drawings and a large library of related books and catalogues.

Immerse yourself in Wright’s Derby

Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in ‘Wright’s Derby’ — the city that was so central as the home of one of Britain’s greatest painters. From the atmospheric galleries of Derby Museum & Art Gallery and the Museum of Making, to Derby Cathedral and the historic Darley Abbey Mills, this is a cultural journey that connects past and present as well as looking to the future.

Tony Butler OBE, Executive Director, Derby Museums said:

“Derby Museums is proud to be collaborating with The National Gallery, London, The Paul Mellon Centre and Visit Derby on the ‘Year of Wright’ for the next 12 months.

Seventeen of the twenty works in From the Shadows are from Derby Museums’ collections. It is really important that we recognise there are great treasures held in regional museums throughout the UK, I hope that we set an example both showcasing the work of regional museums and to get significant works moving around the UK so that all UK citizens can see great art in the place where they live.”

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader, Derby City Council said:

“Culture is at the heart of Derby and we’re incredibly proud to be the birthplace and lifelong inspiration for Joseph Wright. We’re absolutely thrilled that Derby Museums is teaming up with the National Gallery for a ‘Year of Wright’, celebrating his enduring work.

“I recently visited the exhibition at the National Gallery and found it fascinating to gain a deeper understanding of Wright’s paintings, presented in such an impressive setting. This exciting partnership will bring his art into the national spotlight while celebrating his local roots, ensuring everyone recognises Derby’s vital role in shaping his extraordinary legacy.”

For further press information, images and interviews, please contact:

E: jenny@culturecommscollective.com         T:      07787 773 344

E: morag@culturecommscollective.com         T:      07976 081 044