William Austin (1721 – 11 May 1820, Brighton) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

artist, drawing-master, engraver and

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Alf ...

. A rival of Matthew Darly, he used a distinctive grainy, woodblock-like style.

Life and work

Austin, was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1721. He was a pupil of George Bickham, but after having engraved a few plates, chiefly landscapes of no great merit, he relinquished the practice of the art, and devoted the remainder of his life to teaching drawing, first in London and afterwards in Brighton, Sussex. He is recorded in list of eminent painters in the ''Universal Magazine'' in 1748. Among his engravings are four plates of the "Ruins of Ancient Rome" (after Pannini), 4 plates of the "Ruins of

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

", 6 "Sea-pieces" (after Van Goyen), and "The Four Times of the Day" (views in Holland after Waterloo, Ruisdael, Van Goyen, and Van der Neer. He likewise engraved with

Paul Sandby Paul Sandby (1731 – 7 November 1809) was an English map-maker turned landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Life and work Sandby was ...

, Vivares, and others, some views of "

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual renta ...

" and "

Virginia Water Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its n ...

", and also published in 1781 a series of thirty plates, slightly etched from drawings by

Andrea Locatelli Andrea Locatelli (19 December 1695 – 19 February 1741)Michel, Olivier (2003). "Locatelli, Andrea". Grove Art Online. was an Italian painter of landscapes (vedute). Locatelli (he spelled it Lucatelli) was born in Rome in 1695, as stat ...

, entitled "A Specimen of Sketching Landscapes".William Young Ottley.
Notices of engravers and their works
'. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, 1831. For some time he ran a print-shop, and published some political caricatures, mostly directed against the French, and in support of the administration of

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

. Six of these, "French Spies attacked by British Bees", and others, were engraved by himself in 1780. His consistent support for the Whig Interest led him to be known as ''Fox's Fool''. A trade card in the Heal Collection in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. advertises "Austin, Etcher & Engraver, At the Golden Head, In great George Street, Hanover Square. Sells all sorts of Italian, Dutch, French and Flemish Prints & Drawings, both of the Antient ic& Modern Masters; with the greatest variety of Japanning & Water Colours; Brushes. Black, Red & White Chalk, India Ink, Portcrayons, Black Lead Pencils, Drawing Paper &c. Coats of Arms, Visiting Tickets & Shop-Bills Design'd, Engraved & Printed, Pictures carefully Clean'd, Lin'd & Mended. Most Money for Prints." The

British Museum catalogue The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

has over 70 works by Austin. Austin died in Brighton on 11 May 1820, at the advanced age of ninety-nine. his obituary appears in the ''Gentleman's Magazine'' Volume 90, Part 1; May 1820 p.476. in 1820.

References

External links

Portrait of William Austin
(National Portrait Gallery, London) {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, William British draughtsmen English illustrators English cartoonists English caricaturists English engravers Artists from London 1721 births 1820 deaths