James Watson (c. 1739 – 1790) was an Irish engraver. JemimaCornwallis

Life

He came while young to London, where he is supposed to have been a pupil of

James Macardell James MacArdell (1729?–1765) was an Irish mezzotinter. Life He was born in Cow Lane (later Greek Street), Dublin, around 1729. He learnt mezzotint-engraving from John Brooks. When Brooks moved to London in 1746, MacArdell and other pupils foll ...

. He became a leading

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonal ...

engraver. Watson published some of his works himself at his house in Little Queen Anne Street, Portland Chapel; but the majority were done for Sayer, Boydell, and other printsellers. He exhibited engravings with the

Incorporated Society of Artists The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established P ...

between 1762 and 1775. Watson died in Fitzroy Street, London, on 20 May 1790. The engraver Caroline Watson (1761?–1814) was his daughter and pupil.

Works

Watson produced plates from pictures by Joshua Reynolds,

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

Francis Cotes Francis Cotes (20 May 1726 – 16 July 1770) was an English painter, one of the pioneers of English pastel painting, and a founding member of the Royal Academy in 1768. Life and work He was born in London, the eldest son of Robert Cotes, an a ...

Catherine Read Catherine Read (or Katherine) was a Scottish artist. Born in the early 18th century, she is most known for her work as a portrait-painter. She was for some years a fashionable artist in London, working in oils, crayons, and miniature. From 1760 ...

, Anthony van Dyck, Gabriel Metzu,

Godfried Schalcken Godfried Schalcken (1643 – 16 November 1706) was a Dutch genre and portrait painter. He was noted for his mastery in reproducing the effect of candlelight, and painted in the exquisite and highly polished manner of the Leiden fijnschilders. L ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

, and others. He engraved about fifty portraits after Reynolds, among them those of the Duchess of Cumberland; the Duchess of Manchester, with her son; Countess Spencer and her daughter; Barbara, Countess of Coventry; Anne Delaval, Lady Isabella Stanhope, and

Nelly O'Brien Ellen Lucy or Nelly O'Brien (4 June 1864 – 1 April 1925) was an Irish miniaturist, landscape artist, and Gaelic League activist. Life and family Nelly O'Brien was born Ellen Lucy O'Brien on 4 June 1864, at Cahirmoyle, County Limerick. She wa ...

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, James 1739 births 1790 deaths 18th-century engravers Irish engravers Artists from London