The South East Prospect of Westminster Bridge

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Royal College of Defence Studies, Seaford House, Belgrave Square

Benjamin Cole was from a well-known family of engravers. He began his career engraving maps and trade cards. His earliest architectural works are thought to be his series of English and Welsh cathedrals, published in 1715. These prints were incorporated into a series of ‘Prospects’, published by John Overton in the 1720s. Cole also engraved plates for ‘Views of the Several Parts of the Palace or Castle of Versailles’ (1725) for Overton. In 1736 Cole and William Henry Toms engraved the plates for architect Nicholas Hawksmoor’s ‘A Short Historical Account of London Bridge’. However, Cole more commonly engraved portraits and decorative subjects, such as bookplates, after works by contemporary artists.

Places

England, London, Westminster

Subjects

rowing boat, topography, townscape/cityscape, river, bridge (urban), government building, house, palace, abbey, church, hall, barge/canal boat, sailboat

Materials & Techniques

engraving, coloured engraving

Artist

Benjamin Cole ( - 1783)

Title

The South East Prospect of Westminster Bridge

Date

Medium

Coloured engraving

Acquisition

Purchased from Parker Gallery, March 1961

GAC number

5433