The Romney Society

The Romney Society is dedicated to learning about eighteenth- century art and artists, in particular George Romney. Through a programme of lectures, visits and publications, the Society considers the visual arts of the time and the lives and achievements of artists. If you share our interest in the period you would be very welcome to join the Society and get involved.

Announcements

8/12/2025
This newly discovered painting, seen for the first time before and after cleaning, almost certainly from Romney's return to the North-West in 1767. 

Online Lectures

Picture
5/12/2025

We are pleased to share an online presentation of our most recent lecture.

Owen Hopkins (Director of the Farrell Centre, Newcastle University) speaks on ‘The Architecture and Afterlife of Nicholas Hawksmoor’

View the lecture here.
Members are requested to please check that their memberships are up to date.

About George Romney

Find out more about the artist George Romney, we also provide a biography and bibliography

Sketchbooks

Romney used sketchbooks all his life and over fifty survive in public collections around the world. The Society aims to bring as many as possible onto this web site and the first three via Abbott & Holder are shown here​.

Events

We are pleased to announce the first set lectures of the 2025-26 season. Our next lecture is:

Friday 6th March- Dr Beth Richards (Independent Researcher) will speak on "Ann Verelst, Romney and Rubies: East India Company Women and their Art"

Transactions

Transactions are issued annually to all members. They usually contain four or five original and illustrated articles on aspects of 18th century art. They contain the Essay Prize for that year whenever the prize is awarded.

Some examples of George Romney's work