Robert Murdoch Wright's Egypt

Surprisingly little biographical information is recorded about Robert Murdoch Wright (1858–1926), who is best known for his depictions of Middle Eastern landscapes. He appears to have been born in Kensington and studied in Paris and at Antwerp Academy in the 1880s alongside the artist Dudley Hardy ROI RBA. In the 1910s he is based in Oxford, with a studio on Gloucester Lane. He is also known to have had a studio at Cheyne Walk in London and to have exhibited at the Royal Academy.

Wright worked in an Orientalist style that was popular in Europe throughout the 19th century, drawing on the earlier work of artists such as David Roberts, William James Müller and John Frederick Lewis. Like that of the earlier Orientalists, his work presents a romanticised view of 'exotic' local life and landscapes: his tranquil desert scenes are often imbued with the warm, soft light of evening and show figures at rest.

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