Peltro William Tomkins (1759–1840) was an English engraver and draughtsman.
Life
He was born in London, and was baptised 15 October 1759, the younger son of William Tomkins (1730?–1792), a landscape-painter, and his wife Susanna Callard;
Charles Tomkins the antiquarian draughtsman and aquatint engraver was his elder brother. He became a pupil of
Francesco Bartolozzi
__NOTOC__
Francesco Bartolozzi (21 September 1727, in Florence – 7 March 1815, in Lisbon) was an Italian engraver, whose most productive period was spent in London. He is noted for popularizing the "crayon" method of engraving.
Early life
B ...
, and working in the
dot and stipple style.
Tomkins was engaged as drawing-master to the daughters of George III, and spent time at court, receiving the appointment of historical engraver to the queen. For some years he carried on business as a print publisher in
Bond Street. Ambitious projects involved him in heavy financial losses; he then obtained an Act of Parliament authorising him to dispose by lottery of the collection of watercolour drawings from which his engravings were executed, together with unsold impressions of the plates, together valued at £150,000.
Tomkins died at his house in Osnaburgh Street, London, on 22 April 1840.
Works
Tomkins engraved from his own designs some "fancy" subjects as well as some portraits, including those of George III and his daughter,
Charlotte, Princess Royal
Charlotte, Princess Royal (Charlotte Augusta Matilda; 29 September 1766 – 5 October 1828), was Queen of Württemberg as the wife of King Frederick I. She was the eldest daughter and fourth child of King George III of the United Kingdom and hi ...
. In 1797 he produced a sumptuous edition of
James Thomson's ''
The Seasons'', with plates by himself and Bartolozzi from designs by
William Hamilton: the frontispiece to it had a medallion portrait of Tomkins, with others of Bartolozzi and Hamilton. He also planned two major works, ''The British Gallery of Art'', with text by
Henry Tresham
Henry Tresham (c.1751 – 17 June 1814) was an Irish-born British historical painter active in London in the late 18th century. He spent some time in Rome early in his career, and was professor of painting at the Royal Academy of Arts in London ...
and
William Young Ottley, and ''The Gallery of the Marquess of Stafford'', with text by Ottley, which both appeared in 1818. Many of the sets of prints were printed in colours. Other plates by Tomkins included:
* ''A Dressing Room à l'Anglaise'', and ''A Dressing Room à la Française'', a pair after
Charles Ansell;
* ''English Fireside'' and ''French Fireside'', another pair after Ansell;
* ''Cottage Girl shelling Peas'' and ''Village Girl gathering Nuts'', a pair after
William Redmore Bigg
William Redmore Bigg ( Felsted, Essex 6 January 1755 – 6 February 1828 London) was a British painter.
Bigg was born in Felsted in Essex to William and Grace Bigg. He enrolled in the Royal Academy schools in 1778 where he studied under Edwa ...
;
* ''Amyntor and Theodora'', after
Thomas Stothard
Thomas Stothard (17 August 1755 – 27 April 1834) was an English painter, illustrator and engraver.
His son, Robert T. Stothard was a painter ( fl. 1810): he painted the proclamation outside York Minster of Queen Victoria's accession to the t ...
;
* ''The Vestal'', after
Joshua Reynolds;
* ''Sylvia and Daphne'', after
Angelica Kauffmann;
* ''Louisa'', after
James Nixon;
* ''Birth of the Thames'', after
Maria Cosway
Maria Luisa Caterina Cecilia Cosway (ma-RYE-ah; née Hadfield; 11 June 1760 – 5 January 1838) was an Italian-English painter, musician, and educator. She worked in England, in France, and later in Italy, cultivating a large circle of friends a ...
;
* ''Madonna della Tenda'', after
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
;
* portrait of
Mrs. Siddons, after
John Downman
John Downman (1750 – 24 December 1824) was a Welsh portrait and subject painter.
Life and work
Downman is thought to have been born near Ruabon, Denbighshire, the son of Francis Downman, attorney, of St Neots, and Charlotte (née Goodsend, ...
; and
* portrait of
Margaret Howard, Duchess of Norfolk
Margaret Howard (née Audley), Duchess of Norfolk (1540 – 9 January 1564) was the sole surviving child of Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, and Lady Elizabeth Grey, herself the daughter of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, an ...
, after
Lucas de Heere
Lucas de Heere (1534 – 29 August 1584) was a Flemish painter, poet and writer. His costume books and portraits are a valuable resource in depicting 16th-century clothing.
Biography
Lucas de Heere, a Protestant, was born in Ghent, the ...
.
Tomkins executed a set of illustrations to Sir James Bland Burgess's poem ''The Birth and Triumph of Love'', from designs by
Princess Elizabeth, and two sets of plates from papers cut by Lady Templetown. He was also a major contributor of illustrations to John Sharpe's ''British Poets'', ''British Classics'', and ''British Theatre''. His last work was a series of three plates from copies by Harriet Whitshed of paintings discovered at
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
, 1834–40.
Also finished in 1812 a landscape with Moucheron design. Engravement waterink soft green AND carmín tensionated to More dark value
Family
By his wife, Lucy Jones, Tomkins had a large family, including a daughter Emma, who practised as an artist and married Samuel Smith the engraver.
Notes
Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomkins, Peltro William
1759 births
1840 deaths
English engravers
Draughtsmen