Despite having a considerable impact on European history, Britain's schools of painting have not always been regarded as making a significant contribution to the rich Continental legacy. The celebrated art historian Andrew Wilton offers an insightful look at the triumphs and accomplishments of British art over the past five centuries in this new book. 
From its tentative beginnings under the influence of Holbein through its maturation during the time of Hogarth and Reynolds, when it portrayed an affluent society with expanding Imperial influence, he examines the history of British painting. The author then examines the revolutionary roles played by Constable and Turner in the Romantic era as well as the mysterious status of artists in Victorian England at a time when a strict moral code clashed with the uncertainties of the age of Darwin. Wilton demonstrates how many figures in the 20th century—from the Bloomsbury Group to Francis Bacon and the School of London—explored the modernist movement's novel concepts. 90 of the 200 illustrations are in color.