Joseph Farington (1747-1821) was a professional landscape and topographical artist. Through his extensive involvement in the affairs of the Royal Academy and his wide circle of friends he was extraordinarily well-informed about the affairs of his day. His diary, which he kept meticulously from 1793 until his death, was published by Yale University Press in sixteen volumes between 1978 and 1984. It comprises not only a detailed record of his actions and observations as an influential figure in the London art world but is also an absorbing record of the social, political, and literary...