{"title":"Kate Retford","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"georgian-london-town-house-book-kate-retford-9781501373749","title":"The Georgian London Town House","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor every great country house of the Georgian period, there was usually also a town house. Chatsworth, for example, the home of the Devonshires, has officially been recognised as one of the country’s favourite national treasures - but most of its visitors know little of Devonshire House, which the family once owned in the capital. In part, this is because town houses were often leased, rather than being passed down through generations as country estates were. But, most crucially, many London town houses, including Devonshire House, no longer exist, having been demolished in the early twentieth century. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book seeks to place centre-stage the hugely important yet hitherto overlooked town houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, exploring the prime position they once occupied in the lives of families and the nation as a whole. It explores the owners, how they furnished and used these properties, and how their houses were judged by the various types of visitor who gained access.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49737894691089,"sku":"NGR9781501373749","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51459559096593,"sku":"GOR014288008","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1501373749.jpg?v=1750892474"},{"product_id":"conversation-piece-book-kate-retford-9780300194807","title":"The Conversation Piece","description":"Shortlisted for the 2018 Apollo Book of the Year award   Pioneered by William Hogarth (1697–1764) and his peers in the early 18th century, and then revitalized by Johan Zoffany (1733–1810), the conversation piece was an innovative mode of portraiture, depicting groups posed in landscape or domestic settings. These artists grappled with creating complex multi-figured compositions and intricate narratives, filling their paintings with representations of socially, nationally, and temporally precise customs. Paying particular attention to the vibrant (and at times fabricated) interior and exterior settings in these works, Kate Retford discusses the various ways that the conversation piece engaged with the rich material culture of Georgian Britain. The book also explores how these portraits served a wide array of interests and concerns among familial networks and larger social groups. From codifying performances of politeness to engaging in cross-cultural exchanges, the conversation piece was a complex and nuanced expression of a multifaceted society.   Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49769883173137,"sku":"CIN0300194803G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50509789790481,"sku":"GOR009752047","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50658113061137,"sku":"GOR014026721","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0300194803.jpg?v=1751005831"},{"product_id":"art-of-domestic-life-book-kate-retford-9780300110012","title":"The Art of Domestic Life","description":"This book is the first to explore English family portraiture in the 18th century, a varied category ranging from small-scale conversation pieces to grandiose, full-length images. Kate Retford probes this much-loved genre to trace the values and meanings behind these compositions. While early images by artists such as Arthur Devis depicted sitters stiffly posed, later in the century scenes of affection and intimacy were created by portraitists like Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds. In the country-house collections, portraits first emphasized ancestry and inherited virtue, but later emphasized the domestic merits of the family. The Art of Domestic Life contributes a wealth of visual evidence to the history of the family. It offers important insights into both the innovations and traditions in family portraiture of this period, drawing on in-depth research into paintings, the lives of the sitters depicted, and the domestic spaces in which portraits were hung.Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art    Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52823900324113,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52823900455185,"sku":"GOR006395455","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780300110012.jpg?v=1764436088"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-kate-retford.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}