Excerpt from Memoirs of the Life of the Late George Morland: With Critical and Descriptive Observations on the Whole of His Works Hitherto Before the Public At a period when the arts and sciences seem approaching to perfection, and the taste and genius of the nation becoming more refined by an universal patronage and admiration of the liberal arts, it was thought that the exhibition of the productions of one of our countrymen might be peculiarly grateful. The works of Mr. Morland have fallen into the hands of a few connoisseurs; among the number, the proprietor of the present collection has, for his own private gratification, employed unwearied attention in selecting and purchasing his best and most valuable compositions; without even having seen or known the artist, he confesses himself to have been an enthusiastic admirer of his productions. His merit has been long concealed, and the public prevented from paying a tribute of respect to the memory of an artist whose genius and originality have done honor to their country. The catalogue of the present gallery, containing nearly One Hundred of his most excellent paintings, has been drawn up rather to assist those whose attention has never been turned to the graphic art than as a critical work. The taste of an artist or an individual, refined by education and the study of the best models, requires no direction: to the former, independent of its imperfections, it may prove of some service; to the latter, it is undeserving of notice. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.