Joseph Farington (and his diary) [ Art and Literature / Diaries & Letters / Communication ]
… remained rather stunted, it is clear that his position in the art world allowed him to develop an extraordinary range of acquaintance. Reading Farington’s diary today, the word that springs to mind to describe much of its content is ‘gossip’. … The remark exhibits a latitude we might not expect, but also demonstrates Taylor’s normative surveillance of his wife’s acquaintances. Taylor was an associate of Farington but was clearly not privy to Farington’s information (from the … distinguish what we might call ‘grooming gossip’ – in which people ensure that the conduct of family members and close acquaintance is up to scratch (with those criteria being set by standards notionally shared by the family group and the …
Art | Conventions | Diaries | Gender | Gossip
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