Excerpt from George Morland, Painter, London (1763-1804) Morland family, and because it is by an artist of some standing and knowledge. No attempt in Dawe's bio graphy, or in these pages, is made to extenuate George Morland's faults, but the reader will be gratified to learn that the artist's life, which is invariably depicted by recent writers in such dark colours, possessed many good features. Like his contemporary, Robert Burns, George Morland may lay claim to that gentle forbearance which, in consideration of sterling work performed, ought always to be extended to genius. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from George Morland, Painter, London (1763-1804) If the celebrity of a man at his death may be gauged by the number of biographies of him which then make their appearance, George Morland must have died famous. No fewer than four 'Lives' of the artist appeared shortly after his death, written respectively by William Collins (1805), F. W. Blagdon (1806), J. Hassell (1806), and George Dawe, R.A.(1807). All four may be consulted in the British Museum, but will with difficulty be met with elsewhere. In these circumstances, a new biography seems at least permissible, more particularly as George Morland still remains a famous man and numbers a greater multitude of admirers than ever. His pictures somehow appeal to the English people as no others do - perhaps because he was so thorough an Englishman himself, and because he painted English subjects in a way no man ever did before or has done since. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Published to accompany exhibition held at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 8/11/96 - 9/2/97.

Concern about the 'decline of community', and the theme of 'community spirit', are internationally widespread in the modern world. The English past has featured many representations of declining community, expressed by those who lamented its loss in quite different periods and in diverse genres. This book analyses how community spirit and the passing of community have been described in the past – whether for good or ill – with an eye to modern issues, such as the so-called 'loneliness epidemic' or the social consequences of alternative structures of community. It does this through examination of authors such as Thomas Hardy, James Wentworth Day, Adrian Bell and H.E. Bates, by appraising detective fiction writers, analysing parish magazines, considering the letter writing of the parish poor in the 18th and 19th centuries, and through the depictions of realist landscape painters such as George Morland. K. D. M. Snell addresses modern social concerns, showing how many current preoccupations had earlier precedents. In presenting past representations of declining communities, and the way these affected individuals of very different political persuasions, the book draws out lessons and examples from the past about what community has meant hitherto, setting into context modern predicaments and judgements about 'spirits of community' today.