S.W. Aspect of the Priory Church at Elstow, Bedfordshire

Thomas Hearne (1744 - 1817)
William Byrne (1743 - 1805)

Coloured engraving

published 1 January 1803
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection
  • About the artist
    Thomas Hearne was born at Brinkworth, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire. He was apprentice to the engraver William Woollett, and became a watercolourist, mostly of topographical views. In 1771 he went to the Leeward Islands with the Governor-General Sir Ralph Payne, and stayed for three and a half years. His most important work was in conjunction with the engraver William Byrne, with whom he produced ‘The Antiquities of Great Britain’ between 1777 and 1781, and many of the plates for ‘Britannia Depicta’ between 1806 and 1818. His early work shows the influence of Paul Sandby, and he was in turn to influence the early styles of Thomas Girtin and J. M. W. Turner.
    William Byrne made etchings and engravings of landscapes after contemporary artists. At 22 he won a premium of 25 guineas from the Society of Arts. From 1769 to 1772 he worked for Johann Georg Wille in Paris. After returning to the UK he became a prosperous engraver and publisher. He exhibited from 1766 to 1780 and was elected a fellow of the Incorporated Society of Artists. With watercolourist Thomas Hearne he produced the series of engravings for ‘The Antiquities of Great Britain’ (1778-06). Among his pupils were Samuel Middiman and Johann Gottlieb Schumann. Byrne married twice and had five children, all of whom became painters and / or engravers. Byrne died suddenly at his home in Titchfield Street, Westminster, at about the age of 62.
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  • Details
    Title
    S.W. Aspect of the Priory Church at Elstow, Bedfordshire
    Date
    published 1 January 1803
    Medium
    Coloured engraving
    Acquisition
    Purchased from Sotheby's, 22 February 1977
    GAC number
    13110