# William Woollett

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English engraver (1735–1785)

For the American architect, see [William Lee Woollett](/source/William_Lee_Woollett).

[1783 portrait](/source/Portrait_of_William_Woollett) of Woollett by [Gilbert Stuart](/source/Gilbert_Stuart)

**William Woollett** (15 August 1735 – 23 May 1785) was an English engraver.

## Life

Woollett's 1781 engraving of [Benjamin West](/source/Benjamin_West)'s 1778 painting *[The Battle of La Hogue](/source/The_Battle_of_La_Hogue)*

Woollett was born on 15 August 1735 in [Maidstone](/source/Maidstone), [Kent](/source/Kent) to a family had originally emigrated to England from the [Dutch Republic](/source/Dutch_Republic).[1] He was apprenticed to [John Tinney](/source/John_Tinney), an engraver in [Fleet Street](/source/Fleet_Street), London, and studied in the [St Martin's Lane academy](/source/St._Martin's_Lane_Academy). His first important plate was from *[The Destruction of the Children of Niobe](/source/The_Destruction_of_the_Children_of_Niobe)* of [Richard Wilson](/source/Richard_Wilson_(painter)), published by Boydell in 1761, which was followed in 1763 by a companion engraving from the "Phaethon" of the same painter. He engraved several [Benjamin West](/source/Benjamin_West) paintings, including *[The Death of General Wolfe](/source/The_Death_of_General_Wolfe)* in 1776 and *[The Battle of La Hogue](/source/The_Battle_of_La_Hogue)* in 1781, the former of which is usually considered Woollett's masterpiece. In 1775 he was appointed engraver-in-ordinary to [George III](/source/George_III); and he was a member of the [Incorporated Society of Artists](/source/Society_of_Artists_of_Great_Britain), of which for several years he acted as secretary.[1]

Woollett's plates combined engraving, etching, and dry-point and were considered highly esteemed examples of the English school of engraving. [Louis Fagan](/source/Louis_Fagan), in his *Catalogue Raisonné of the Engraved Works of William Woollett* (1885), enumerated 123 plates by Woollett.[1] [Thomas Hearne](/source/Thomas_Hearne_(artist)) became apprenticed to him in 1765, Woollett came to consider him the finest landscape engraver of his day; he stayed for six years. [Benjamin Thomas Pouncy](/source/Benjamin_Thomas_Pouncy) (B.T. Pouncy) (died 1799), was a pupil.[2] He died in London; his is one of the many graves in [Old St. Pancras](/source/Old_St._Pancras) Churchyard.[3] He is not listed on the memorial to important lost graves erected in the 19th century.

## Memorials

A monument to his memory, by [Thomas Banks](/source/Thomas_Banks_(sculptor)), stands in [Westminster Abbey](/source/Westminster_Abbey).[4]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-EB1911_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-EB1911_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-EB1911_1-2) One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain): [Chisholm, Hugh](/source/Hugh_Chisholm), ed. (1911). "[Woollett, William](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Woollett,_William)". *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition)*. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 817.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** O'Donoghue, Freeman Marius (1896). ["Pouncy, Benjamin Thomas"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Pouncy,_Benjamin_Thomas). In [Lee, Sidney](/source/Sidney_Lee) (ed.). *[Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography)*. Vol. 46. London: [Smith, Elder & Co](/source/Smith%2C_Elder_%26_Co). pp. 231–232.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ['St Pancras'](https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol5/pp324-340), in *Old and New London: Volume 5* (London, 1878), pp. 324–340. British History Online.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851, Rupert Gunnis

## Further reading

- Fagan, Louis. *[A catalogue raisonné of the engraved works of William Woollett](https://archive.org/details/acatalogueraiso00fagagoog)* (London, The Fine art society Ltd., 1885).

- [Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, volume 5](https://archive.org/details/bryansdiction05brya) (New York: Macmillan, 1903) p394.

- Brendan Cassidy, 'William Woollett's Ring', *Print Quarterly*, Vol.XXXV No.1 March 2018, pp70–71.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [William Woollett](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:William_Woollett).

- [William Woollett and family](http://www.woolletthistory.co.uk/main/engraver.htm) (woolletthistory.co.uk)

- [Engravings by Woolett](http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/search/Artist.asp?maker_id=115060) ([Government Art Collection](/source/Government_Art_Collection))

- [William Woollett & William Hogarth – Frontispiece to Taylor's Perspective](http://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/woollett_william_frontispiecetotaylorsperspective.htm) (Art of the Print)

- [Phaeton](http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5049535) (engraving after Richard Wilson)

- [Works by Woolett](http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp58004&role=art) (National Portrait gallery, London)

- Hutchinson, John (1892). ["William Woollett"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Men_of_Kent_and_Kentishmen/William_Woollett). *Men of Kent and Kentishmen* (Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. p. 145.

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Poland Israel Artists ULAN RKD Artists KulturNav 2 Scientific illustrators Auckland 2 FID People Trove Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Open Library SNAC Te Papa (New Zealand)

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