DEMPSEY’S PEOPLE. A FOLIO OF BRITISH STREET PORTRAITS 1824-1844 by David Hansen

History tends to ignore the lowly. Those who dwelt at the fringes

of society, or among the ranks of the sick, poor or destitute, have

rarely left more than the faintest mark upon it, more usually none

at all.

This story begins with curator David Hansen’s chance discovery

of a set of watercolour portraits over 20 years ago, and culminates

with a new body of research into little-known portraitist John

Dempsey and his enchanting portrayal of British street people.

For the first time, 52 of Dempsey’s beguiling watercolour portraits

are brought together to provide a fresh perspective on the art historical

narrative of 19th century society. It is a story of the

extraordinary travels of Dempsey around Britain, in a time of

limited transportation, through to the eventual downturn in the

fortunes of travelling painters with the emergence of photography.

Nearly 200 years later, many of the subjects of these portraits

are identifiable. Dempsey’s ode to the town personalities he

encountered on his travels provide rare insight into the individuals

who populated small towns across Britain. There are bellmen and

beggars; hawkers and match-sellers; old soldiers, poets, eccentrics;

and the physically and mentally disabled.

Drawn from the collections of Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

and the Alexander Turnbull Library in New Zealand, Dempsey’s

People will draw you into the life and times of Georgian England.