Caroline Watson (1761?–1814) was an English stipple engraver.

Life

The daughter of the Irish engraver

James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biology, molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper in ''Nature (journal), Nature'' proposing the Nucleic acid ...

, she was born in London in 1760 or 1761, and studied under her father, who worked in mezzotint. She was known for her skilled worked in the stipple method, was particularly known for reproductions of miniatures, and was the only woman engraver to serve as an independent engraver in the British 18th century. She came to prominence as an engraver at about the same time as women began to make up a significant proportion print consumers. Due to ill health, her career began to wind down after 1810. She died at

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

on 10 June 1814.

Works

Watson's plates were numerous. In 1784, she engraved a portrait of

Prince William of Gloucester Prince William of Gloucester (William Henry Andrew Frederick; 18 December 1941 – 28 August 1972) was a member of the British royal family. The elder son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, he w ...

, after

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

, and, in 1785, a pair of small plates of the Princesses Sophia and Mary, after

John Hoppner John Hoppner (4 April 175823 January 1810) was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Joshua Reynolds, who achieved fame as a colourist. Early life Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents – his mother w ...

, which she dedicated to

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

. She was then appointed engraver to Queen. She engraved portraits of: * Sir James Harris, and the Hon. Mrs. Stanhope, both after

; *

Catherine II of Russia Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

, after

Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (; spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insightful psyc ...

; and *

William Woollett William Woollett (15 August 173523 May 1785) was an English engraver operating in the 18th century. Life Woollett was born in Maidstone, of a family which came originally from the Netherlands. He was apprenticed to John Tinney, an engraver in ...

, after

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-k ...

; and *

Samuel Cooper Samuel or Sam Cooper may refer to: * Samuel Cooper (painter) (1609–1672), English miniature painter * Samuel Cooper (clergyman) (1725–1783), Congregationalist minister in Boston, Massachusetts * Samuel Cooper (surgeon) (1780–1848), English su ...

's reputed portrait of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

. Other works were: * ''The Marriage of St. Catherine'', after

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

; * the plates to

William Hayley William Hayley (9 November 174512 November 1820) was an English writer, best known as the biographer of his friend William Cowper. Biography Born at Chichester, he was sent to Eton in 1757, and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 1762; his connec ...

's ''Life of Romney'', for which she replaced William Blake as primary engraver; * for

John Boydell John Boydell ( ; – 12 December 1804) was an English publisher noted for his reproductions of engravings. He helped alter the trade imbalance between Britain and France in engravings and initiated an English tradition in the art form. A former ...

's ''Shakespeare'', the ''Death of Cardinal Beaufort'', after Reynolds, and a scene from ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'', after

Francis Wheatley Francis Wheatley may refer to: *Francis Wheatley (painter) Francis Wheatley Royal Academy, RA (174728 June 1801) was an England, English portrait and Landscape art, landscape Painting, painter. Life and work Wheatley was born at Wild Court, Cov ...

. Watson also executed a set of

aquatint Aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching that produces areas of tone rather than lines. For this reason it has mostly been used in conjunction with etching, to give both lines and shaded tone. It has also been used ...

s of the ''Progress of Female Virtue and Female Dissipation'', from designs by

Maria Cosway Maria Luisa Caterina Cecilia Cosway (ma-RYE-ah; née Hadfield; 11 June 1760 – 5 January 1838) was an Italian-English painter, musician, and educator. She worked in England, France, and later Italy, cultivating a large circle of friends and cli ...

. She engraved several pictures belonging to the

Marquess of Bute Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart was the member of a family that ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Caroline 1760s births 1814 deaths 18th-century English engravers 18th-century English women artists 18th-century English artists Artists from London English people of Irish descent British women engravers