The life of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright
A self-portrait of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright (1825).
Thomas Griffiths Wainewright was born into a gifted literary family in England in 1794.
He became an essayist, artist, collector, and critic.
Presenting himself as a fashionable dandy during the 1820s, Wainewright mingled with the cultural elite and exhibited narrative paintings at the Royal Academy and British Institution.
Although he appeared to lead an extravagant lifestyle, Wainewright was actually spending way beyond his means and started forging cheques.
He was found out and sentenced to life in Van Diemen’s Land.
As a convict, Wainwright became a portraitist for Hobart’s elite.
He died of apoplexy in 1847, a year after receiving a conditional pardon.
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost was presented by Dark Mofo and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). It was the first major exhibition dedicated to Wainewright, who is now seen as one of the most sophisticated artists from the colonial era.
Ten of his portraits are held by the TMAG.
These were brought together with other artworks by Wainewright and his circle to form the exhibition.
It also included an old cell door, an iron bedstead, a table piano, and a bookcase made out of Australian red cedar.
A well-made audio track ran throughout the exhibition space, as well.
It was very much a typical exhibition, but it was nonetheless one that was enjoyed by history buffs and art enthusiasts.
The Paradise Lost exhibition.
