Joseph Collyer (14 September 1748 – 24 December 1827), also called Joseph Collyer the Younger, was a British engraver. He was an associate of 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 ...

and portrait engraver to the British Queen Consort,

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 ...

Life and work

Collyer, the younger, was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of

Joseph Collyer Joseph Collyer (14 September 1748 – 24 December 1827), also called Joseph Collyer the Younger, was a British engraver. He was an associate of the Royal Academy and portrait engraver to the British Queen Consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Streli ...

(d. 1776), editor and translator, and

Mary Collyer Mary Collyer (née Mitchell) (c. 1716 – 1763) was an English translator and novelist. Life Mary, whose maiden name was Mitchell, married Joseph Collyer the elder; their son, Joseph Collyer, Joseph Collyer the younger, was an engraver, and illu ...

(née Mitchell, d. 1763), translator and novelist. He studied for a short time under the engraver Anthony Walker, and applied himself to book illustrations with success. He attracted the notice of

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 ...

and was employed to make an engraving after David Teniers. In 1761 he was awarded a premium from the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

; about nine years later he entered the

, where he exhibited for the first time in 1770. He was admitted as a student in 1771. Sir

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 ...

allowed Collyer to reproduce two of his paintings, "Venus" and "Una", as chalk engravings (a type of

stipple engraving Stipple engraving is a technique used to create tone in an Intaglio (printmaking), intaglio print by distributing a pattern of dots of various sizes and densities across the image. The pattern is created on the printing plate either in engraving ...

). He engraved some large plates including, 'The Volunteers of Ireland' 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 ...

, published in 1784. In 1786 he was elected an associate engraver of the Royal Academy, and appointed portrait engraver to Queen Charlotte. In 1815 he was master of the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in 1 ...

. Among his engraved portraits may be mentioned those of the

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...

and the

Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to: People * Charlotte of the United Kingdom (disambiguation), various princesses ** Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015), granddaughter of King Charles III and only daughter of William, Prince of Wales * Charlott ...

(1799); George, Duke of Montagu (1793); Sir Charles Grey, K.B. (1797); Sir

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

(1789); Qian Long, emperor of China (1796);

Thomas Newton Thomas Newton (1 January 1704 – 14 February 1782) was an English cleric, biblical scholar and author. He served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to 1782. Biography Newton was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was subsequently elec ...

, Bishop of Bristol;

Mary Palmer Mary Palmer (née Reynolds; 9 February 1716 – 27 May 1794) was a British author from Devon who wrote ''Devonshire Dialogue'', once considered the "best piece of literature in the vernacular of Devon." She was the mother of painter Theophi ...

(1785); Miss Palmer
(1785, engraving after Joshua Reynolds). William Whitehead (1787); Paul Whitehead (1776); and Sir William Young. Collyer also engraved the illustrations to Hervey's Naval History'',' besides several plates after Rooker. He last exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1822, and died on 24 December 1827. Engraver James Heath was one of his apprentices.

References

External links

Biography
(Geoff's Genealogy)
Portrait engravings by Collyer
(

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

)
Scene from Shakespeare's "King Henry the Eighth"
(1796, engraving after

William Peters (painter) Matthew William Peters (1742 – 20 March 1814) was an English portrait and genre painter who later became an Anglican clergyman and chaplain to George IV. He became known as "William" when he started signing his works as "W. Peters".Simon, ...

- artoftheprint.com)
Sir Charles Grey, K.B
(1797, engraving after

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

)
Felina
(1790, stipple engraving after Joshua Reynolds - Donald A. Heald ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Collyer, Joseph English engravers 1748 births 1827 deaths Associates of the Royal Academy