Robert Laurie (c. 1755–1836) was an Anglo-Scottish mezzotint engraver and publisher. He signed his name as Lowery, Lowry, Lowrie, Lawrey, Lawrie, or Laurie.

Early years

Born about 1755, his background was the Lauries of

Maxwelton Maxwelton is a historic single-story house in Memphis, Tennessee, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the only extant example in Memphis of a Victorian piano box house. It is currently a private residence. The pi ...

, Dumfriesshire. He received from the Society of Arts in 1770 a silver palette for a drawing from a picture, and in 1773, 1775, and 1776 premiums for designs of patterns for calico-printing.

Work

His earliest portraits in mezzotint are dated 1771. He was a relatively early British user of the à la poupée method of printing in colours, extending the number of colours considerably, and for this received from the Society of Arts in 1776 a bounty of thirty guineas. Early in 1794, in partnership with James Whittle, he succeeded to the business carried on by

Robert Sayer The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

at the Golden Buck in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

, London as a publisher of engravings, maps, charts, and nautical works. Major charts published by this firm were

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

's ''Survey of the South Coast of Newfoundland'' (1776) and the ''Surveys of St. George's Channel'', (1777). Laurie then gave up the practice of engraving. He retired from business in 1812, and the firm continued as Whittle & Laurie, but the business was run by his son, Richard Holmes Laurie, who, on the death of Whittle in 1818, became the sole proprietor. L. S. De la Rochette and John Purdy were the hydrographers to the firm. James William Dodd Laurie

Death

Robert Laurie died at Broxbourne,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, on 19 May 1836, aged 81. His son died at 53 Fleet Street, on 19 January 1858, also at the age of 81, leaving two daughters.

Works

Laurie Fredonia or the United States of North America 1829 UTA

Major subject prints by Laurie were: *''The Adoration of the Magi'', ''The Return from Egypt'', ''The Crucifixion'', and ''St. John the Evangelist'', after

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 traditio ...

*''The Crucifixion'', after

Vandyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

*''The Incredulity of St. Thomas'', after

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

*''The Holy Family'', after Guercino *''Christ crucified'', after

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...

*''The Adoration of the Magi'', after

Andrea Casali Andrea Casali (17 November 1705 – 7 September 1784) was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. He was also an art dealer in England. ''Angelica e Medoro'', Bemberg Fondation Toulouse He was born in Civitavecchia in the Papal States and stu ...

*''The Quack Doctor'', after Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich *''The Flemish Rat-catcher'' and ''The Itinerant Singer'', after Adriaen van Ostade *''The Wrath of Achilles'', after

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*''The Oath of Calypso'', ''Diana and her Nymphs bathing'', and a ''Madonna'', after

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*''Sunrise: landscape with fishermen'', after George Barret *''The Naval Victory of Lord Rodney'', after Robert Dodd *''Young Lady confessing to a Monk'', after William Millar *''Court of Equity, or Convivial City Meeting'', after

Robert Dighton Robert Dighton was born c.1752 in London and died there in 1814. An English portrait painter, printmaker and caricaturist, he was the founder of a dynasty of artists who followed in his footsteps. Life and work Robert Dighton was the son of t ...

*''The Rival Milliners'' and ''The Jealous Maids'', after John Collet *''The Full of the Honeymoon'' and ''The Wane of the Honeymoon'', after Francis Wheatley *a scene from '' She Stoops to Conquer'', with portraits of Shuter, Quick, and Mrs. Green, after

Thomas Parkinson Thomas F. Parkinson (1920–1992) Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, was a poet in his own right; an expert on the poetry of W. B. Yeats; and one of the first academic authorities to write about the Beat poets and n ...

*a scene from '' The School for Scandal, with portraits of Mrs. Abington, King, Smith, and Palmer, from a drawing by himself. Portraits include those of: William Burrell-antiquarian

*George III and Queen Charlotte, after Zoffany *Queen Charlotte, with the Princess Royal and Princess Sophia Augusta, and George, prince of Wales, with Frederick, duke of York, two groups after his own designs *

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

, after Sir Joshua Reynolds *''Garrick led off the Stage by Time towards the Temple of Fame'', after Thomas Parkinson *Garrick with Mrs. Bellamy, as Romeo and Juliet, after Benjamin Wilson *Mrs. Baddeley, the actress, after Zoffany; *Elizabeth Gunning, duchess of Argyll, two plates after Catharine Read *Jemima, countess Cornwallis, after Sir Joshua Reynolds * Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, after Peter Mequignon * John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent; * Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, full-length, after

Jean-Baptiste van Loo Jean-Baptiste van Loo (14 January 1684 – 19 December 1745) was a French subject and portrait painter. Life and career He was born in Aix-en-Provence, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo. Hav ...

; *Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire * Joseph Ames and a series of twelve portraits of actors, after Robert Dighton.

Notes

References

* * Attribution *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurie, Robert 1755 births 1836 deaths British engravers 19th-century publishers (people)