Blake — As the ultimate example of the Romantic artist, William Blake made radical developments in art technique to communicate his vision. However, visual art was just one facet of his achievement. In his famous Illuminated Books, Blake combined painting, engraving, and poetry, some of which are now the most famous in the English language. However, Blake's visual art can be far more readily appreciated, and paintings such as The Ancient of Days remain a powerful testimony to the genius of this multi-talented artist.

Constable — He has been eternally associated with just one part of England: Suffolk. As a native of the area, he drew life-long inspiration from his home country in a timeless collection of landscape paintings. One of these, The Hay Wain, may well be the most famous painting ever created by an English artist. However, there were occasions when Constable struggled to gain recognition for his work until the critics in France began to appreciate his genius.

Gainsborough — Possibly the greatest-ever English portraitist and landscape artist of 18th century England, Thomas Gainsborough had undoubtedly the most famous individual image. The celebrated Blue Boy is just one of hundreds of powerfully impressive images created by Gainsborough. By the middle of his life, he was a master at depicting the men, women, and children of his day, and his genius made him a wealthy man. However, Gainsborough's real passion was landscape painting and he worked in both genres throughout his life. The Fancy Pictures created toward the end of his career were a result of combining landscape and portraiture, which are now seen by many as his greatest achievement.

Hogarth — Undoubtedly the first great painter to hail from England, William Hogarth depicted English society in a witty and brilliantly satirical way. This was a society with flaws, and Hogarth was not afraid to condemn, as well as praise. With these characteristics combined, Hogarth was able to produce his greatest works: Modern Moral Subjects, which included The Rake's Progress and Marriage á-la-Mode, admired to this day for their humor and vitality.

Reynolds — Considered one of the most important and influential 18th century English portraitists, Sir Joshua Reynolds was knighted in recognition of his genius. Deeply inspired by the Old Masters during an artistic pilgrimage to Italy, he incorporated their influence into a new style of English portraiture that was dubbed, "The Grand Style." It made him rich, and his many portraits of wealthy men, women, and especially children, remain an English national treasure.

Turner — A Royal Academy exhibitioner at the age of 15, J.M.W. Turner, by the end of his life, was the best-known artist in England during the Romantic period and one of the forerunners of Impressionism. A life-long lover of landscape and seascape painting, he traveled widely in search of inspiration. No artist had ever painted light and color as Turner did in his astonishing later works. These paintings such as Rain, Steam, and Speed and The Fighting Téméraire were the conclusion to the long evolution of the art of J.M.W. Turner.