With one major grant secured and another application pending, Derby Museums needs to raise £24,000 to bring together an exhibition that unites, for the first time, major paintings and engravings created by artist William Hogarth in response to the threat of Jacobite rebellion, in particular the Jacobite Rising of 1745; a pivotal moment in the history of our city and nationally, remembered by ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’s’ retreat to Scotland upon reaching Derby.
The exhibition, at Derby Museum and Art Gallery, will bring together around 60 objects from 13 collections, including loans from the National Portrait Gallery, The Foundling Museum and National Galleries of Scotland. It will include pieces such as The March of the Guards to Finchley (The Foundling Museum), Marriage A-la-Mode and The Shrimp Girl (National Gallery), and The Beggar’s Opera (Birmingham Museums), amongst others.
With your help we can bring these prestigious loans to Derby to create a world-class exhibition with some of the finest art of the period, further elevating the city’s position as an unmissable place to visit.
As the exhibition will reveal, his vibrant images, rich in social and political commentary and exploring themes such as British identity, monarchy, and the state of the union, continue to resonate to this day. The exhibition will give us the opportunity to further our research and improve interpretation around the Jacobite items currently in our collection.
At a time of rising living costs, it is more important than ever that we continue to bring free admission exhibitions of this calibre to Derby, supporting the economy of our city and providing cultural opportunities of outstanding quality for our visitors and supporters.
Donations of any size are welcome and very gratefully received. As a thank you for your support, we are offering:
To support our appeal, please donate here, selecting ‘Hogarth Appeal’ as the reason for your gift. Alternatively, please send your donation to Jenny Cuadrado, Museum and Art Gallery, The Strand, Derby DE1 1BS.
To find out more about sponsoring this exhibition, please email: jennifer@derbymuseums.org or call 01332 642617.
Image: William Hogarth, ‘The March of the Guards to Finchley’, 1749-1750, oil on canvas © The Foundling Museum, London