Book Description

Richard Dadd (1817–1886) constructed fairytale worlds and other highly original works of art. After making his name as an exceptional student at the Royal Academy in the late 1830s, he travelled to the Eastern Mediterranean, where he developed a psychotic illness that led to the killing of his father. Dadd spent the rest of his life in London’s Bethlem Royal Hospital and then Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire, in both of which he was encouraged to paint.

Dadd’s output encompasses much more than the fairy paintings for which he is renowned. There are also highly detailed sketches evocative of his Eastern Mediterranean travels, remarkable characterisations of the human passions, and perceptive portraits of his doctors. Profusely illustrated throughout, this new account of his life and art by Nicholas Tromans and other leading scholars re-examines the legacy of one of the most fascinating figures in the visual arts of the Victorian era.

Nicholas Tromans, curator of this exhibition, has written widely on 19th-century British art. Sarah Thomas is Senior Lecturer at the School of Historical Studies, Birkbeck, University of London. Cora Gilroy-Ware is Associate Professor in the History of Art at St Peter’s College, Oxford. Robert Howard is Professor of Old Age Psychiatry in the UCL Division of Psychiatry, London. Natasha Fyffe is Interim Assistant Curator at the Royal Academy.