William Watts (1752–1851) was an English line-engraver. Grove House in Middlesex, The Seat of

Life

The son of a master silk weaver in

Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting like a dam, i ...

, London, Watts was born early in 1752. He received his art training from

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 ...

and

Edward Rooker Edward Rooker (c. 1712 – 22 November 1774) was an English engraver, draughtsman and actor. Life and work Rooker was born in Towcester in Northamptonshire around 1712, to Michael and Ann Rooker, and was a pupil of Henry Roberts (engraver) ...

, and on Rooker's death in 1774 continued the '' Copper-plate Magazine''. Watts sold up at his house at Kemp's Row,

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

and went to Italy, reaching

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in September 1786. After about a year he returned, and lived at Sunbury, Middlesex. In 1789 he went to

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

, in 1790 to the Hotwells in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and in 1791 to Bath where he spent two years. Interested by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, and went to Paris in 1793, where some of his views of English country seats were engraved in colours by Laurent Guyot. He invested most of the property that he had inherited from his father, with his own earnings, in the French funds; and all of it was confiscated (though he recovered some of it after the peace in 1815). His losses compelled him to return to engraving, retiring early in the 19th century. Watts then lived for a short time at

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

. In 1814 he purchased a small property at

Cobham, Surrey Cobham () is a large village in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, centred south-west of London and northeast of Guildford on the River Mole. It has a commercial/services High Street, a significant number of primary and private s ...

, where he died on 7 December 1851, after having been blind for some years, within a few months of his hundredth birthday.

Works

Watts published a number of engravings of country seats after Sandby. His own ''Seats of the Nobility and Gentry'', a series of 84 plates, followed in 1779–86. His views of the principal buildings in Bath and Bristol, prepared around 1790, were not published until 1819. ''Thirty-six Views in Scotland'' appeared in two parts (1791–4). Watts also engraved three of the plates in ''Select Views in London and Westminster'' (1800), and sixty-five coloured plates, from drawings by Luigi Mayer, for Sir Robert Ainslie's ''Views in Turkey in Europe and Asia'' (1801).

Gallery

Alexandru Moruzi at Curtea Nouă.jpg Seats of the nobility and gentry - no-nb digibok 2013122028001-103.jpg Seats of the nobility and gentry - no-nb digibok 2013122028001-11.jpg Seats of the nobility and gentry - no-nb digibok 2013122028003-73.jpg Seats of the nobility and gentry - no-nb digibok 2013122028003-81.jpg

Notes

External links

William Watts: engravings (rare old prints website)
Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, William 1752 births 1851 deaths English engravers