Samuel Alken Sr. (22 October 1756 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 ...

– 9 November 1815 in London) was an English

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

, a leading exponent of the newly developed technique 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 ...

History

Samuel Alken entered the

Royal Academy Schools 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 ...

, London, as a sculptor in 1772. He published ''A New Book of Ornaments Designed and Etched by Samuel Alken'' in 1779, and later established himself as one of the most competent engravers in the new technique of aquatint. His works included plates after

George Morland George Morland (26 June 176329 October 1804) was an English painter. His early work was influenced by Francis Wheatley, but after the 1790s he came into his own style. His best compositions focus on rustic scenes: farms and hunting; smugglers an ...

, Richard Wilson,

Thomas Rowlandson Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 1757 – 21 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual soc ...

and

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 ...

. His plates for ''Sixteen views of the lakes in Cumberland and Westmorland'' after drawings

John Emes 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 Uni ...

and John Smith were published in 1796, and a set of aquatint views of North Wales after drawings by the Rev. Brian Broughton in 1798.

Relatives

The Alken family claims several well-known artists.''The Grove Dictionary of Art'' on Alken a
artnet.com
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Bibliography

*S. T. Prideaux: ''Aquatint Engraving'' (London, 1909, rev. 1968) *M. D. George: ''A Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires'', London, B.M. cat., vii (London, 1942)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alken, Samuel 1756 births 1815 deaths Painters from London British painters of animals English animal artists 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists

History

Relatives

See also

Bibliography

References