William Bernard Cooke
Encyclopedia
William Bernard Cooke was an English line engraver
.
in 1778. He was the elder brother of George Cooke
(1781–1834), and became a pupil of William Angus (1752–1821), the engraver of the "Seats of the Nobility and Gentry in Great Britain and Wales". After the termination of his apprenticeship he obtained employment upon the plates for Brewer's "Beauties of England and Wales", and then undertook the publication of "The Thames" which was completed in 1811, and for which he engraved almost all the plates after Samuel Owen
.
His most important work was the "Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England", chiefly from drawings by Turner, which he produced between 1814 and 1826, conjointly with his brother, George Cooke, and for which he executed no less than twenty-two plates, besides many vignettes. He also engraved after Turner "The Source
of the Tamar" and "Plymouth", and in 1819 five plates of "Views in Sussex" which were published with explanatory notices by R. R. Reinagle
. Besides these he engraved "Storm clearing off", after Copley Fielding
, for the Gallery of the Society of Painters in Watercolours,' 1833, as well as plates for Ebenezer Rhodes
's "Peak Scenery", 1818, Peter De Wint
's "Views in the South of France, chiefly on the Rhone", 1825, Cockburn
's "Pompeii", 1827, Stanfield's "Coast Scenery" 1836, Noel Humphreys
's "Rome and its surrounding Scenery" 1840, and other works. He likewise published "A new Picture of the Isle of Wight" 1812, and "Twenty-four select Views in Italy" 1833.
He was an engraver of considerable ability, and excelled especially in marine views, but the works which he published did not meet with much success. He died at Camberwell
of heart disease, on 2 August 1855, aged 77.
Line engraving
Line engraving is a term for engraved images printed on paper to be used as prints or illustrations. The term is now much less used and when is, it is mainly in connection with 18th or 19th century commercial illustrations for magazines and books, or reproductions of paintings.Steel engraving is...
.
Life and work
Cooke was born in LondonLondon
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...
in 1778. He was the elder brother of George Cooke
George Cooke (engraver)
George Cooke , was an English line engraver.-Life and work:Cooke was born in London in 1781. His father was a native of Frankfurt, Germany, who in early life settled in England and became a wholesale confectioner. At the age of fourteen, George Cooke was apprenticed to James Basire...
(1781–1834), and became a pupil of William Angus (1752–1821), the engraver of the "Seats of the Nobility and Gentry in Great Britain and Wales". After the termination of his apprenticeship he obtained employment upon the plates for Brewer's "Beauties of England and Wales", and then undertook the publication of "The Thames" which was completed in 1811, and for which he engraved almost all the plates after Samuel Owen
Samuel Owen (artist)
Samuel Owen was an English marine painter and illustrator.-Life and works:Owen was born about 1769. Nothing is recorded of him before 1791, when he exhibited "A Sea View" at the Royal Academy. This was followed in 1797, after the victory of Cape St...
.
His most important work was the "Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England", chiefly from drawings by Turner, which he produced between 1814 and 1826, conjointly with his brother, George Cooke, and for which he executed no less than twenty-two plates, besides many vignettes. He also engraved after Turner "The Source
of the Tamar" and "Plymouth", and in 1819 five plates of "Views in Sussex" which were published with explanatory notices by R. R. Reinagle
Ramsay Richard Reinagle
Ramsay Richard Reinagle, was an English portrait, landscape, and animal painter, and son of Philip Reinagle.-Biography:...
. Besides these he engraved "Storm clearing off", after Copley Fielding
Copley Fielding
Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding , commonly called Copley Fielding, was an English painter born in Sowerby, near Halifax and famous for his watercolour landscapes. At an early age Fielding became a pupil of John Varley...
, for the Gallery of the Society of Painters in Watercolours,' 1833, as well as plates for Ebenezer Rhodes
Ebenezer Rhodes
Ebenezer Rhodes , topographer, was born in Masborough near Rotherham, in 1762. He entered the cutlery trade in 1777 and served a seven year apprenticeship. He was interested in reading and the theatre but his occupation was as a senior partnership with David Champion in a business that made scissors...
's "Peak Scenery", 1818, Peter De Wint
Peter De Wint
Peter De Wint was an English landscape painter.De Wint was the son of an English physician of Dutch extraction who had come to England from New York., he was born in Stone, Staffordshire. He moved to London in 1802, and was apprenticed to John Raphael Smith, the mezzotint engraver and portrait...
's "Views in the South of France, chiefly on the Rhone", 1825, Cockburn
James Pattison Cockburn
James Pattison Cockburn was born into a military family and received his military training at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. There, he received training in drawing which was related to the skills required for topography.Cockburn had a long career in the military and retired with the rank of...
's "Pompeii", 1827, Stanfield's "Coast Scenery" 1836, Noel Humphreys
Henry Noel Humphreys
Henry Noel Humphreys , was a British illustrator, naturalist, entomologist , and numismatist.Humphreys, who studied medieval manuscripts in Italy as a young man, became an accomplished scholar in numerous subjects...
's "Rome and its surrounding Scenery" 1840, and other works. He likewise published "A new Picture of the Isle of Wight" 1812, and "Twenty-four select Views in Italy" 1833.
He was an engraver of considerable ability, and excelled especially in marine views, but the works which he published did not meet with much success. He died at Camberwell
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
of heart disease, on 2 August 1855, aged 77.
External links
- W B Cooke's engravings (Royal Academy Collections)
- Engravings at the NMM (National Maritime MuseumNational Maritime MuseumThe National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
, Greenwich, London)