James Gillray

Tim Clayton is a historian and writer. He is a specialist in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century history and culture, and is a leading authority on the printed images of that period.

“James Gillray: A Revolution in Satire describes not just the caricaturist’s life and tragic end as creeping insanity took hold, but also the bracing effect he had on the art of satire itself.”—Michael Prodger, Times (UK), “Top 10 Art Books”“Mr. Clayton’s well-researched . . . study makes a strong case for Gillray as the creator of a genre of graphic art—and as a forceful commentator. . . . [The] selection takes readers on a journey through Georgian politics and society with a guide who spared no one . . . and reminds us just how potent satire can be.”—William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal“Tim Clayton’s new biography, the product of meticulous attention to the milieu printmakers worked in, suggests that in Gillray’s case circumstance and exceptional skill went hand in hand.”—Clare Bucknell, New York Review of Books“Nuanced and convincing. . . . The level of detail in this massive and masterly book is breathtaking.”—Martin Rowson, The Guardian“A fascinating, well-rounded life of Gillray. . . . Clayton has done an impressive, thorough job.”—Peter Brookes, Times (UK)“Clayton’s book is a magisterial study . . . and a biography that warrants comparison with the best ever done on an 18th-century artist.”—David Bromwich, London Review of Books“Exploring the tensions between patrons and censors, artistic independence, and financial necessity, this lavishly illustrated biography lights up a life and an anxious fast-changing society.”—Damian Thompson, World of Interiors, “Holiday Roundup”“A wonderful book. . . . Clayton guides us through every aspect—technical, practical, commercial and collaborative—of platemaking and printmaking in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and explains the markets at home and abroad to whose demanding tastes Gillray had to cater.”—Freya Johnston, Literary Review“The diversity of Gillray’s work across four decades displays both a rare technical ability to imbue his prints with dynamic energy and an imaginative, excoriating wit.”—Nicholas Babbington, Apollo