West View of the Town and Bay of Swansea

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Wales Office, Gwydyr House, Whitehall

As well as drawings this view, etcher and line engraver Samuel Middiman also drew and engraved a ‘View of Oystermouth in Swansea’ Bay for his collection of ‘Select Views in Great Britain’, which was published in 1792.

In 1767 Samuel Middiman was apprenticed to the engraver William Byrne and later worked with printmakers William Woollett and Francesco Bartolozzi. As a specialist in landscape etching, his skills were always in demand. He made 16 plates for the publication ‘Picturesque Castles and Abbeys in England and Wales’ (1807-11) and 53 for ‘Select Views in Great Britiain’ (1814). From 1780 to 1782 and from 1795 to 1797 he exhibited drawings at the Royal Academy. In 1788 he married Martha Woodyer at St Pancras. Middiman produced four plates for the ‘Shakespeare Gallery’. Later in his career he turned to landscape painting and exhibited several works at the British Institution. He died at Cirencester Place in Westbourne Park, London, in December 1831.
In 1767 Samuel Middiman was apprenticed to the engraver William Byrne and later worked with printmakers William Woollett and Francesco Bartolozzi. As a specialist in landscape etching, his skills were always in demand. He made 16 plates for the publication ‘Picturesque Castles and Abbeys in England and Wales’ (1807-11) and 53 for ‘Select Views in Great Britiain’ (1814). From 1780 to 1782 and from 1795 to 1797 he exhibited drawings at the Royal Academy. In 1788 he married Martha Woodyer at St Pancras. Middiman produced four plates for the ‘Shakespeare Gallery’. Later in his career he turned to landscape painting and exhibited several works at the British Institution. He died at Cirencester Place in Westbourne Park, London, in December 1831.
Aquatint engraver Francis Jukes was born in Martley, Worcestershire. Nothing is known of his parents. He initially worked as a topographical painter, before becoming one of the first British aquatint engravers. He is thought to have learnt the method from Paul Sandby and some of his first aquatints are after Sandby’s designs. Dukes mainly produced prints of landscape or seascape subjects. He illustrated the Rev. William Gilpin’s ‘Observations on the River Wye’ (published 1782). His early prints were published in collaboration with Valentine Green and he later collaborated with Robert Pollard. Illness towards the end of his life may have been caused by fumes from the acid he used in the aquatinting process. He died in 1812, aged about 67.

Places

Wales, Swansea, Swansea Bay, Bristol Channel

Subjects

topography, seascape/coastal scene, townscape/cityscape, tree, dog, hill, bay, Welsh, woman, 18th century costume, basket, path, house, cottage, ship

Materials & Techniques

aquatint, coloured aquatint

Artist

Samuel Middiman (1750 - 1831)
Samuel Middiman (1750 - 1831)
Francis Jukes (1745 - 1812)

Title

West View of the Town and Bay of Swansea

Date

1 May 1792

Medium

Coloured aquatint

Acquisition

Purchased from Frank T Sabin, November 1959

GAC number

5029