John Emes (1762–1810) was a British engraver and water-colour painter. His wife Rebecca Emes ran a successful silver business after his death.Anne Pimlott Baker, 'Emes, John (1762–1808)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
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Life

Emes was born on 30 December 1762 to

William Emes William Emes (1729 or 1730–13 March 1803) was an English landscape gardener. Biography Details of his early life are not known but in 1756 he was appointed head gardener to Sir Nathaniel Curzon at Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. He left this post ...

, a landscape gardener from Mackworth near Derby. He is best known by his engraving of the picture by

James Jefferys James Jefferys (19 May 1751 – 31 January 1784) was a British engraver and painter. His work was reassessed in the 1970s following the discovery of a lost set of drawings in Maidstone. Life Jefferys was born in Maidstone in 1751 to William and ...

of ''The Destruction of the Spanish Batteries before Gibraltar''. The etching for this is dated 1786, and as it was published in October 1789 by Emes and Elizabeth Woollett, widow of

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 ...

it is possible that it was begun by Woollett. Emes was also a water-colour painter, and executed tinted drawings of views in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and elsewhere, some of which he exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1790 and 1791. There are three water-colour drawings by Emes in the Print Room at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, one being a large drawing representing 'The Meeting of the Royal Society of British Archers in Gwersylt Park, Denbighshire;’ the figures in this are drawn by R. Smirke, R.A., and it was afterwards engraved in aquatint by C. Apostool. A set of sixteen views of the lakes in Cumberland and Westmoreland, drawn by J. Smith and J. Emes, were engraved in aquatint by S. Alken; these were incorporated into Thomas West's ''Guide to the Lakes''. Emes also engraved some views of Dorsetshire. His collection of prints was sold on 22 March 1810, after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emes, John 1762 births 1810 deaths Artists from Derby 18th-century English engravers 19th-century English engravers English watercolourists 18th-century English painters 19th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists