Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball is an oil painting by English artist
William Etty. Although he was then known almost exclusively for history
paintings featuring nude figures, he was commissioned in 1833 by Welsh
Conservative politician Charles Williams-Wynn to paint a portrait of two
of his daughters. Charlotte, the eldest, is shown standing, helping the
seated Mary decorate her hair with a ribbon and a rose, both in lavish
Italian-style costume. Etty put a good deal of effort into the piece and
took much longer than usual to finish it, first exhibiting it at the
1835 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Generally well received, even by
critics usually hostile to Etty, it demonstrated that he was both
capable of high-quality work and deserving of patronage by the English
elite, and the success led to further commissions. It remained in the
collection of Mary Williams-Wynn's descendants and was not shown
publicly for 160 years, other than in an 1849 retrospective exhibition.
In 2009 it was acquired by the York Art Gallery, where it now forms part
of a major collection of Etty's work.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparing_for_a_Fancy_Dress_Ball>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
527:
Upon the death of Justin I, Justinian the Great became the sole
ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justinian_I>
1715:
Introduced during a time of civil disturbance in Great Britain,
the Riot Act came into force, authorising authorities to declare any
group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot_Act>
1801:
First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise
captured the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the
coast of modern-day Libya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_1_August_1801>
1981:
The American cable television network MTV, the first dedicated
video-based outlet for music, made its debut with the music video for
the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV>
2009:
A shooting attack at the Gay and Lesbian Association building
in Tel-Aviv, Israel, resulted in the deaths of two people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Tel_Aviv_gay_centre_shooting>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
olympicene:
(organic chemistry) A pentacyclic aromatic hydrocarbon whose structure
is in the form of the Olympic rings.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/olympicene>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Silence is the general consecration of the universe. Silence is
the invisible laying on of the Divine Pontiff's hands upon the world.
Silence is at once the most harmless and the most awful thing in all
nature. It speaks of the Reserved Forces of Fate. Silence is the only
Voice of our God.
--Herman Melville
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herman_Melville>