Waterloo Bridge

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: HM Revenue & Customs, 100 Parliament Street

William Westall was born in Hertford; the son of a brewer and brother of Richard, RA. He enrolled at the Royal Academy schools in 1799 and was later draughtsman for a voyage to Australia and the South Seas. After being shipwrecked he travelled to Canton in China and to India, staying in Bombay for several months. He returned to England in 1805 but later set off for Madeira and Jamaica. He became a member of the Society of Painters in Water Colours (1811) and an associate of the Academy (1812). Following a mental breakdown he regularly visited the Lake District and published ‘Views of the Valley and Vale of Keswick’ (1820). His series of aquatints of the Thames, universities and public schools for Ackermann are among his most popular works.
London-born Richard Gilson Reeve was the son, and most likely pupil, of Richard Reeve (born 1780). Both father and son were aquatint engravers, mainly of sporting and marine subjects.

Places

England, River Thames, London, Waterloo Bridge

Subjects

rowing boat, topography, townscape/cityscape, river, bridge (urban), house, church, cathedral, spire, dome, tiled roof, chimney, tower, sailboat

Materials & Techniques

aquatint, colour aquatint

Artist

William Westall (1781 - 1850)
Richard Gilson Reeve (1803 - 1889)

Title

Waterloo Bridge

Date

published 1828

Medium

Colour aquatint

Acquisition

Purchased from Parker Gallery, September 1976

GAC number

12476