William Lawranson or Lawrenson (baptised 1742, died in or after 1783) was an English painter and engraver.

Life

He was the son of

Thomas Lawranson Thomas Lawranson (or Lawrenson) ( fl. 1760–1777) was an Irish painter. Lawranson signed the roll of the Incorporated Society of Artists in 1766, and is first styled a fellow of the society in 1774. He lived in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbu ...

. In 1760 and 1761 he obtained premiums from the Society of Arts. He was, like his father, a fellow of the Incorporated Society of Artists.

Works

Lawranson first exhibited with the Incorporated Society in 1762, sending a portrait. In 1763 and 1764 he sent portraits to the

Free 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 ...

, but in 1766 returned to the Incorporated Society and continued to exhibit there till 1772. He sent mostly crayon portraits, including in 1771 one of William Smith the actor as Iachimo, which he engraved himself in mezzotint, and in 1769 one of Sophia Baddeley. From 1774 till 1780 he exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. Many of Lawranson's pictures were engraved, including: Ann Catley Dunkarton

Ann Catley Ann Catley (1745–1789), also known as Ann Lascelles, was an English singer, actress, and prostitute. Personal life Catley was born near Tower Hill, London, to hackneyed coachman and a washer woman. Mr. Catley spent his earnings only on himsel ...

as "Euphrosyne", by Robert Dunkarton; * Signora

Giovanna Sestini Giovanna Sestini (6 April 1749 – 14 July 1814) was a soprano opera singer who performed in her native Italy, in Portugal, and from 1774 in London, where she lived for the rest of her life. For many years she was the popular ''prima buffa'' (or ...

, the opera singer, by John Jones; * Benjamin West by William Pether; * Sir Eyre Coote by J. Walker; and * ''A Lady Haymaking'', ''Palemon and Lavinia'', ''Rosalind and Celia'', ''Cymon and Iphigenia'' by

John Raphael Smith John Raphael Smith (1751 – 2 March 1812) was a British painter and mezzotinter. He was the son of Thomas Smith of Derby, the landscape painter, and father of John Rubens Smith, a painter who emigrated to the United States. Biography Bapt ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawranson, William 1742 births Year of death unknown 18th-century English painters English male painters English engravers English portrait painters 18th-century English male artists