'The Sea Triumph of Charles II'

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Richard Johns joined the University of York History of Art Department last year, having previously been a curator at the National Maritime Museum, London.

The principal focus of Richard’s research has been the often overlooked field of grand-scale decorative history painting, a form of site-specific elite visual culture that flourished in England for half a century or more following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. His work combines a close reading of specific painted interiors with a fresh look at the interpretive and methodological challenges that such schemes pose for modern scholars. He is currently completing a book-length study of the work of the English artist James Thornhill (1675–1734).

As a curator at the National Maritime Museum from 2008 to 2013, Richard researched many aspects of marine painting from the seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century, and co-curated the major touring exhibition Turner and the Sea (2013–14) which runs until 21st April 2014.