Moses Griffith (6 April 1747 – 11 November 1819) was a Welsh draughtsman, engraver and watercolourist. Griffith was born at Trygarn House in the parish of

Bryncroes Bryncroes is a hamlet and former civil parish in Gwynedd in Wales, and lies on the Llŷn Peninsula approximately 2 km west of Sarn Meyllteyrn. The parish was abolished in 1934 and divided between Botwnnog and Aberdaron. The village was ...

on the

Llŷn Peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( or , ) is a peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with an area of about , and a population of at least 20,000. It extends into the Irish Sea, and its southern coast is the northern boundary of the Tremadog Bay inlet of Cardigan Ba ...

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

. His parents were of humble station, and he received a very elementary education but his artistic talent led to his being taken into service by

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (16 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall, near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...

about 1769. Pennant helped him to study drawing and engraving, and Griffith became his constant companion on his tours and excursions, making the drawings and engravings for Pennant's numerous works. Griffith became proficient both as a draughtsman and as an engraver. Griffith accompanied Pennant during his ''Tour of Wales'' and also visited Scotland, this became a basis of his career between 1769-1790. After Thomas' death, Griffith was employed by his son David and produced nearly 200 watercolors in Wales for him between 1805-1813. On leaving Pennant's service he settled at Wibnant, near

Holywell, Flintshire Holywell ( ; ) is a market town and community in Flintshire, Wales. It lies to the west of the estuary of the River Dee. The community includes Greenfield. In 2011, it had a population of 8,886. Etymology The name Holywell is literally ' + ' ...

, where he obtained plenty of employment as an engraver. He was alive in 1809, when he wrote a letter defending himself from an attack to the ''Gentleman's Magazine''.Gent. Mag. 1809, pt. ii. 1112

Francis Grose Francis Grose (before 11June 173112May 1791) was an England, English antiquary, drawing, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local ...

employed Griffith to engrave some of the plates in his ''Antiquities''. Griffith also painted watercolours of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

scenes, churches, country houses, and portraits, including two self-portraits. His work is to be found in

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

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 ...

and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

Works

File:Clynnog by Moses Griffith 1782.jpg, An original watercolour of Clynnog by Griffith (1782), from the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

' extra-illustrated set of ''A Tour in Wales''. File:Lobelia dortmanna (Griffiths).jpg, ''

Lobelia dortmanna ''Lobelia dortmanna'', Dortmann's cardinalflower or water lobelia, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This stoloniferous herbaceous perennial aquatic plant with basal leaf-rosettes and flower stalks grows to ...

'' drawn by Griffith, engraved by

Peter Mazell Peter Mazell was an Irish painter and engraver, working in London between c. 1761 and 1797. He is known for his fine engravings of natural history subjects, especially those illustrating books by John Walcott and the Welsh naturalist Thomas Penn ...

, from

John Lightfoot John Lightfoot (29 March 1602 – 6 December 1675) was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Life He was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of ...

's 1777 ''Flora Scotica'' File:Long Leg'd Plover in Flora Scotica by John Lightfoot.jpg, "Long Leg'd Plover" (

black-winged stilt The black-winged stilt (''Himantopus himantopus'') is a widely distributed, very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family Recurvirostridae. Its scientific name, ''Himantopus himantopus'', is sometimes used to generalize a single, almost ...

) in ''Flora Scotica'', one of a few birds in the book. Drawn by Moses Griffith; engraved by Peter Mazell File:Basinwerk Abbey miniature by Moses Griffiths.jpg, A miniature of

Basingwerk Abbey Basingwerk Abbey () is a Grade I listed ruined abbey near Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. The abbey, which was founded in the 12th century, belonged to the Order of Cistercians. It maintained significant lands in the English county of Derbyshir ...

from a unique set of eight extra-illustrated volumes of

's ''A Tour in Wales'' owned by the National Library of Wales. File:Basinwerk Abbey by Moses Griffiths.jpg, Another image of Basingwerk Abbey from Pennant's ''A Tour in Wales''. DV 27 No.30.Nannau.png, Nannau painted by Moses Griffith. DV 27 No.31.Old Nannau.png, Old Nannau sketch by Moses Griffith 1797, built by Huw Nanney, circa. 1697.

Works

References

Further reading