The Private Lives of Pictures

“The Private Lives of Pictures explores the challenges, assumptions, and expectations brought to bear on the sudden influx of pictures on private walls. The subject is so rich that it is remarkable it has not been substantially discussed to date … a convivial tour through a representative, and predominantly middle-class, parlor, dining room, drawing room, bedroom and nursery (via many corridors and stairs), Tromans suggests that pictures served different functions in different places … [the book] offers a provocative new approach to the history of art and interiors.”– “Apollo Magazine”“With its impressive range of references from the worlds of art, design, literature and popular culture–from Joshua Reynolds to Abigail’s Party–The Private Lives of Pictures offers its readers a sustained and eloquent reflection on the complex and key roles played by pictures in late nineteenth-century domestic interiors.”–Penny Sparke, professor of design history, Kingston University London, author of “The Modern Interior”

Nicholas Tromans has written widely on nineteenth-century British art, including books on David Wilkie, Orientalist painting, G. F. Watts, Richard Dadd, and (with Susan Owens) Christina Rossetti and the visual arts. He lives in London.