William Alexander (painter)
William Alexander (10 April 1767 – 23 July 1816) was an English painter, illustrator and engraver.
Life and works
Alexander was born in
In 1792, he was appointed as one of the draughtsmen to the
His other principal works were: "Views of Headlands, Islands, etc. taken during the Voyage to China" (1798); drawings based on Daniells' sketches, for Vancouver's Voyage to the North Pacific Ocean (1798); and the descriptive plates to Sir John Barrow's Travels in China (1804), and Voyage to Cochin China (1806). In 1805 he published "The Costume of China", illustrated by 48 coloured engravings.[3][5] The work was so well-received that in 1814 he published another book titled Picturesque Representations of the Dress and Manners of the Chinese, illustrated in fifty colored engravings, with descriptions.[6]
Besides his works as a draughtsman, he made several engravings - the principal one of which is a representation of the Festival given by the Earl of Romney to the Kentish Volunteers, on 1 August 1799, from his own drawing.[2]
In 1802, Alexander was appointed professor of drawing at the Military College at
He died at the house of his uncle in Maidstone in July 1816, and was buried in Boxley churchyard. He was described in one of his obituaries as "a man of mild and unassuming manners, rich in the knowledge of art, and of unsullied integrity."[4]
In honour of his artistic accomplishments, an exhibition titled "William Alexander: An English Painter in Imperial China" was held at the Royal Pavilion Art Gallery and Museum, Brighton from 8 September to 25 October, 1981 and at the Nottingham Art Gallery from 23 November to 17 December 1981.
Notes
- ^ Sylvanus Urban 1816, pp. 79, 80.
- ^ a b c d Rose 1857, p. 290.
- ^ a b c d Garnett 1885.
- ^ a b Sylvanus Urban 1816, p. 80.
- ^ William Alexander (1805). The Costume of China. W. Miller.
Costume of china.
- ^ Alexander, William (1814). Picturesque Representations of the Dress and Manners of the Chinese, illustrated in fifty coloured engravings, with descriptions. London: Murray.
- ^ Combe, Taylor (1810). A Description of the Collection of Ancient Terracottas in the British Museum. London: British Museum; and G. & W. Nicol.
Taylor combe.
- ^ Combe, Taylor (1812). A Description of the Collection of Ancient Marbles in the British Museum. London: British Museum; G. & W. Nicol; W. Miller; Longman and company.
References
- Garnett, Richard (1885). . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co. This source cites:
- Gent. Mag. lxxxvi. pt. ii. pp. 279–80, 369–371;
- Russell's History of Maidstone, pp. 397–8;
- Pikington's Dictionary of Painters.
- Garnett, Richard; MacLennan, Heather M. (reviewer) (2004). "Alexander, William (1767–1816)". .
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Rose, Hugh James (1857). A New General Biographical Dictionary. Vol. 1. p. 290. (Google Books p. 290)- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Sylvanus Urban, ed. (July–December 1816). "Mr. William Alexander (obituary)". The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 86. pp. 279–80.
External links
- W. Alexander online (ArtCyclopedia)
Works by or about William Alexander at Wikisource- Hutchinson, John (1892). . Men of Kent and Kentishmen (Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. p. 4.
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