Towards the Sun

Towards the Sun Synopsis

A comprehensive monograph of artistic travel at the height of British imperial power. Kenneth McConkey takes us around the world to show how British travelers, equipped with cameras and canvases, created artworks commemorating scenes and experiences in southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India, and Japan. He introduces us to a generation of painters, trained in academies and artists' colonies in Europe that acted as crèches for those who would go on to explore life and landscape further afield.  With rich illustrations, the book explores key sites visited by artist-travelers and investigates a wide range of artists, including Frank Brangwyn, Mary Cameron, Alfred East, John Lavery, Arthur Melville, and Mortimer Menpes, as well as other under-researched British artists. Drawing the strands together, it redefines the picturesque by considering issues of visualization and verisimilitude, dissemination, and aesthetic value.