Enlightenment Derby I: Joseph Wright and Derby Society and Culture
About this Event
Enlightenment Derby I: Joseph Wright and Derby Society and Culture
Joseph Wright of Derby was one of the most original artists of the Enlightenment era and some of his paintings such as the Bird in the Air Pump and The Orrery wonderfully encapsulate the excitement of Enlightenment. Derby Museums and Art gallery, of course are the chief repository of Wright’s works in the world. Making a living from portraiture, unlike most major Georgian artists, Wright chose to remain in his home town of Derby for most of his life. As a county town, manufacturing centre and social hub, Derby played an important part in Wright’s life. Touring places associated with his life and achievements, this guided walk considers the full range of Wright’s works and his social networks, assessing why he was so successful. It considers why Enlightenment culture and society in Derby and Derbyshire played such a vital role in Wright’s achievements.
This guided tour around Derby centre led by Professor Paul Elliott will take place on Tuesday 16 June 2026 and last for an hour and half. It will begin at the front of Derby Cathedral (meeting outside, below the tower on Irongate, DE1 3GP) at 1100am and conclude at Derby Museum and Art Gallery (The Strand, DE1 1BS) at 1230.
Professor Paul A. Elliott BA (Hons), MA, PhD, PGCE (Adult Education), FRHS: Brief Biography
Professor Elliott is a Midland-based historian and senior academic from Derby with over thirty years experience working in universities and colleges and leading history tours across the East Midlands and beyond. He has a degree in Ancient History and History, a Masters Degree in Roman Studies, a PhD in History and Post-Graduate Certificate in Adult Education, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Trustee of the Derby Arboretum and long-standing member of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Research and Publications Committee.
His research interests include the history of science and medicine, landscape and environmental history, the history of art and creative cultures, local, urban and regional history, historical geography and the history of education.
Professor Elliott has authored around a hundred academic books, journal articles, book chapters, newspaper and magazine pieces, book reviews, blogs and other materials. His books include:
- The Derby Philosophers: Science and Culture in British Urban Society, 1700-1850 (Manchester; Manchester University Press, 2009/2025):
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526171764/
- Enlightenment, Modernity and Science: Geographies of Scientific Culture and Improvement in Georgian England (London; Bloomsbury Academic, 2010/2020):
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/enlightenment-modernity-and-science-9781350165991/
- (as co-author) The British Arboretum: Trees, Science and Culture in the Nineteenth Century (Pittsburgh; University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011/2019), with Charles Watkins and Stephen Daniels:
https://upittpress.org/books/9780822966203/
- British Urban Trees: a Social and Cultural History c.1800-1914 (Cambridge; Whitehorse Press, 2016):
https://www.whpress.co.uk/publications/2016/05/01/british-urban-trees/
- (as co-editor) Nottingham's Victorian Green Spaces (Peregrine Press, 2020), with John Beckett:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nottinghams-Victorian-Green-Spaces-Beckett/dp/1912312034
- Erasmus Darwin's Gardens: Medicine, Agriculture and the Enlightenment Sciences (London; Boydell Press, 2021/2025):
https://boydellandbrewer.com/blog/early-modern-and-modern-history/erasmus-darwins-gardens/?v=7885444af42e
- Enlightenment, Sociability and Provincial Culture: Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Wright and Friends (Manchester; Manchester University Press, 2026:
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526158468/
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 10.00
