Description: In James Clarke Hook Juliet McMaster tracks the life and career of the brilliant yet underappreciated Victorian painter, from his rigorous training at the Royal Academy Schools, his travelling studentship in Florence and Venice, and his work as a historical painter, to the discovery of his métier as an inspired painter of contemporary rural and coastal scenes.
Brief description: Juliet McMaster is emeritus professor of English at the University of Alberta, specialising in nineteenth-century English literature.
Review Quotes: "Juliet McMaster convincingly blends biography with discussion of art works and references to contemporary literature (Thackeray and Dickens) and art criticism (Ruskin) in this first comprehensive study of the life and art of Hook, an outstanding colourist and imaginative creator of engaging compositions, most highly regarded for his empathetic portrayal of life by the sea." Judith Nasby, author of The Making of a Museum