John Keyse Sherwin was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 engraver and history-painter.

Biography

Sherwin was born at East Dean in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

. His father was a wood-cutter employed in shaping bolts for shipbuilders, and the son followed the same occupation till his seventeenth year, when, having shown an aptitude for art by copying some miniatures, he was adopted by his father's landlord, William Mitford

William Mitford

William Mitford , English historian, was the elder of the two sons of John Mitford, a barrister and his wife Philadelphia Reveley.-Youth:...

. Sherwin was sent to study in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, first under John Astley

John Astley (painter)

John Astley was an English portrait painter and amateur architect, known for his "patronage among a vast circle of fashion" as well as a fortune acquired through marriage.-Early life:...

, and then for three years under Francesco Bartolozzi

Francesco Bartolozzi

Francesco Bartolozzi was an Italian engraver, whose most productive period was spent in London.He was born in Florence...

 – for whom he is believed to have executed a large portion of the plate of Clytie, after Annibale Carracci

Annibale Carracci

Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...

, published as the work of his master.

Sherwin entered as a student of the Royal Academy

Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...

, and gained a silver medal, and in 1772 a gold medal for his painting of "Coriolanus taking Leave of his Family". From 1774 till 1780 he was an exhibitor of chalk drawings and of engravings in the Royal Academy. Establishing himself in St James's Street as a painter, designer and engraver, he attained popularity and began to mix in fashionable society. His drawing of the "Finding of Moses", a work of but slight artistic merit, which introduced portraits of the princess royal of England and other leading ladies of the aristocracy, hit the public taste, and, as reproduced by his burin

Burin

Burin from the French burin meaning "cold chisel" has two specialised meanings for types of tools in English, one meaning a steel cutting tool which is the essential tool of engraving, and the other, in archaeology, meaning a special type of lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which was probably...

, sold largely.

In 1785 he succeeded William Woollett

William Woollett

William Woollett was an English engraver. He was born at Maidstone, of a family which came originally from the Netherlands....

 as engraver to the king, and he also held the appointment of engraver to the Prince of Wales

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

. His professional income rose to about £12,000 a year; but he was constantly in pecuniary difficulties, for he was shiftless, indolent, and without method, open-handed and even prodigal in his benefactions – and prodigal, too, in less reputable directions, for he became a reckless gambler, and habits of intemperance grew upon him. He did however have a notable student, John Thomas Smith who trained with him for three years. Sherwin died in extreme penury on 24 September 1790 – according to George Steevens

George Steevens

George Steevens was an English Shakespearean commentator.He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge, where he remained from 1753 to 1756...

, the editor of Shakespeare, at The Hog in the Pound, an obscure alehouse in Swallow Street, or, as stated by his pupil J.T. Smith, in the house of Robert Wilkinson, a printseller in Cornhill.

It is as an engraver that Sherwin is most esteemed; and it may be noted that he was ambidextrous, working indifferently with either hand upon his plates. His drawing is correct, his line excellent and his textures are varied and intelligent in expression. Such of his plates as the "Holy Family" after Nicholas Poussin, "Christ Bearing the Cross" after Murillo

Bartolomé Estéban Murillo

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children...

, the portrait of the marquis of Buckingham after Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough

Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...

and that of Pitt occupy a high place among the productions of the English school of line-engravers. He also worked after Pine, Dance and Kauffman.