Harriet (1778–1860) (the artist's daughter)

The portrait of Harriet, the artist's daughter, painted in 1790 and now in the Derby Museum and Art Gallery, is one of Wright's most personal works. Wright painted his family members with the same honest observation he brought to his scientific subjects, but with an additional warmth that reveals the affection of a father documenting his child. Harriet Wright was born in 1778 and would have been about twelve when this portrait was made on oil on panel — a more intimate support than the canvas he used for formal commissions. The portrait belongs to a distinguished tradition of artist's-daughter portraits that stretches from Vermeer to Courbet, and Wright's contribution is notable for its directness and psychological sensitivity. By 1790 Wright was at the height of his powers as a portraitist, returning to straightforward domestic subjects between his ambitious volcanic landscapes and industrial subjects. The painting demonstrates that his experimental investigations into dramatic artificial light were grounded in a fundamental commitment to honest observation of the people and places around him. Harriet's portrait is among the most tender works in his oeuvre, a private document of paternal affection rendered with the same technical command he brought to his most ambitious public paintings.

The portrait of his daughter shows Wright's warmest, most tender characterization, with soft lighting and careful attention to the child's expression that reveal a father's loving observation.