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William Heath (1794 – 7 April 1840) was a British artist who once described himself as a "portrait & military painter." He was best known for his published
Monster Soup commonly called Thames Water. Wellcome V0011218.jpg, Monster soup
A disgruntled portly man standing next to a town water pump Wellcome V0011221.jpg, The Stomach Pump
A large John Bull being held down and force-fed by Peel and Wellcome V0011342.jpg, Dr Arthur and his man Bob giving John Bull a Bolus
Burking Poor Old Mrs Constitution. Wellcome L0019663.jpg, Burking Poor Old Mrs Constitution
The gouty George IV relaxing before nine portraits chronicli Wellcome V0011336.jpg, All the World's a Stage
A Pair of Broad Bottoms.jpg, A caricature of Saartjie Baartman
Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, William 1794 births 1840 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery 19th-century engravers English caricaturists English engravers English illustrators British illustrators British satirists 19th-century war artists British war artists
William Heath (1794 – 7 April 1840) was a British artist who once described himself as a "portrait & military painter." He was best known for his published engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
s which included caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
s, political cartoon
A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combin ...
s, and commentary on contemporary life.
Heath was born in Northumberland. His early works often dealt with military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
scenes, including colour plates for ''The Martial Achievements'', ''The Wars of Wellington'', etc., but from about 1820 on he focused on satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
. Between 1827 and 1829, many of his works were published under the pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
"Paul Pry" (the name of an overly inquisitive stage character in a popular 1825 stage comedy by John Poole ); also used the pseudonym Argus. He was described by Dr John Brown, biographer of John Leech as "poor Heath, the ex-Captain of Dragoons, facile and profuse, unscrupulous and clever".
Heath helped found an early caricature magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s, '' The Glasgow Looking Glass'' (renamed to ''The Northern Looking Glass'' after five issues).
Heath created a numbered series of political Caricatures between 1830 and 1834 for ''McLean's Monthly''. He died in Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...
and was buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
. His grave (no.124) no longer has a headstone or any identifying marker.
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 documen ...
has over 160 works by Heath.
Gallery
Works
* ''Historical Military and Naval Anecdotes'' (1815) * ''The Martial Achievements of Great Britain and her Allies'' (1815) * ''The Wars of Wellington'' (1819) (Illustrations) * ''Real Life in Ireland'' (1821) (Illustrations) * ''Real Life in London'' (1822) (Illustrations) * ''The Life of a Soldier'' (1823) * ''Studies from the Stage'' (1823) * ''Rustic Sketches'' (1824) * ''Illustrations of Heraldry'' (1828) * ''Parish Characters'' (1829) * ''Sayings of the Ancients'' (1831) * ''Fashion and Folly'' (1832) * ''Minor Morals for Young People. Illustrated in tales and travels'' (1834–39).References
External links
Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, William 1794 births 1840 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery 19th-century engravers English caricaturists English engravers English illustrators British illustrators British satirists 19th-century war artists British war artists