Thomas Goff Lupton
Encyclopedia
Thomas Goff Lupton was an English mezzotint
engraver and artist, who engraved many works by Turner
and other notable British painters of the 19th century. He also produced some pastels, exhibited at the Royal Academy
. He played an important part in advancing the technical aspect of engraving by introducing soft steel plates.
, London
, the son of William and Mary Lupton. His father, a working goldsmith
, apprenticed him to George Clint
by whom he was instructed in mezzotint engraving. Later he became assistant to Samuel William Reynolds
, and, when Samuel Cousins
was articled to the latter in 1814, Lupton gave him his first lesson. Between 1811 and 1820 he exhibited a few pastel
portraits at the Royal Academy
. Lupton was the youngest of tbe engravers employed by J. M. W. Turner
upon the "Liber Studiorum" ("Book of Studies"), and he executed four of the best of the published and several of the unpublished plates.
Lupton was mainly responsible for the introduction of steel
for mezzotint engraving. Hoping to find a more durable substitute for copper, he made experiments on nickel
plates, the Chinese alloy called tutenag (alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel), and steel, and, deciding upon the latter, used it for a successful portrait of Munden
the actor, after Clint. In 1822 he received the "Isis medal" of the Society of Arts for his application of soft steel for engraving - from one plate alone he was still able to get good copy even after 1,500 impressions; all his subsequent works were therefore produced on steel.
In 1825, 6 plates by Lupton after Turner, were published with the title "Views of tbe Ports of England", and these were reissued in 1856, with six more by Lupton, as "The Harbours of England", with text by John Ruskin
; be also engraved many of the plates for "Gems of Art" (1823), "Beauties of Claude" (1825), Turner and Girtin
's "River Scenery of England" (1827", and Lady Charlotte Bury's "The Three Great Sanctuaries of Tuscany" (1833). Among his best single plates are: "The Infant Samuel", after Reynolds; "Belshazzar's Feast", after John Martin
; "Wellington surveying tbe Field of Waterloo", after Benjamin Haydon
; "The Eddystons Lighthouse" "Fishing at Margate", after Turner; some portraits of theatrical groups after Clint, and portraits after Sir Thomas Lawrence
, Henry Perronet Briggs
, Thomas Phillips
, John Watson Gordon
, and others. Lupton started engraving, under Turner's direction, a large plate from his picture of "Calais Pier", but due to the frequent alterations made by the painter it was never completed.
Between the years 1868 and 1864, Lupton re-engraved 15 of the "Liber Studiorum" subjects for a series which it was intended to issue in parts, but the project failed and the plates remained unpublished. He was an active supporter of the "Artists' Annuity Fund", of which he was elected president in 1836.
Lupton died on on 18 May 1873 at 4 Keppel Street, Russell Square
, London, where he had lived for 36 years. By his marriage in 1818 to Susanna Oliver he had a family of 6 sons and one daughter. His youngest son, Nevil Oliver Lupton, born in 1828, won the "Turner" gold medal of the Royal Academy at the first competition in 1867, and was a frequent exhibitor of landscapes until 1877.
Mezzotint
Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple...
engraver and artist, who engraved many works by Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
and other notable British painters of the 19th century. He also produced some pastels, exhibited at 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...
. He played an important part in advancing the technical aspect of engraving by introducing soft steel plates.
Life and work
Luptin was born in ClerkenwellClerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
, 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...
, the son of William and Mary Lupton. His father, a working goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
, apprenticed him to George Clint
George Clint
George Clint was an English portrait painter and engraver, especially notable for his many theatrical subjects.-Life:...
by whom he was instructed in mezzotint engraving. Later he became assistant to Samuel William Reynolds
Samuel William Reynolds
Samuel William Reynolds was a mezzotint engraver, landscape painter and landscape gardener. Reynolds was a popular engraver in both Britain and France and there are over 400 examples of his work in the National Portrait Gallery in London.- Biography :Reynolds was born on 4 July 1773...
, and, when Samuel Cousins
Samuel Cousins
Samuel Cousins was an English mezzotint engraver, born at Exeter.He was preeminently the interpreter of Sir Thomas Lawrence, his contemporary. During his apprenticeship to S. W. Reynolds he engraved many of the best amongst the three hundred and sixty little mezzotints illustrating the works of...
was articled to the latter in 1814, Lupton gave him his first lesson. Between 1811 and 1820 he exhibited a few pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
portraits at 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...
. Lupton was the youngest of tbe engravers employed by J. M. W. Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
upon the "Liber Studiorum" ("Book of Studies"), and he executed four of the best of the published and several of the unpublished plates.
Lupton was mainly responsible for the introduction of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
for mezzotint engraving. Hoping to find a more durable substitute for copper, he made experiments on nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
plates, the Chinese alloy called tutenag (alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel), and steel, and, deciding upon the latter, used it for a successful portrait of Munden
Joseph Shepherd Munden
Joseph Shepherd Munden , English actor, was the son of a London poulterer, and ran away from home to join a strolling company....
the actor, after Clint. In 1822 he received the "Isis medal" of the Society of Arts for his application of soft steel for engraving - from one plate alone he was still able to get good copy even after 1,500 impressions; all his subsequent works were therefore produced on steel.
In 1825, 6 plates by Lupton after Turner, were published with the title "Views of tbe Ports of England", and these were reissued in 1856, with six more by Lupton, as "The Harbours of England", with text by John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
; be also engraved many of the plates for "Gems of Art" (1823), "Beauties of Claude" (1825), Turner and Girtin
Thomas Girtin
Thomas Girtin was an English painter and etcher. A friend and rival of J. M. W. Turner, Girtin played a key role in establishing watercolour as a reputable art form.-Biography:...
's "River Scenery of England" (1827", and Lady Charlotte Bury's "The Three Great Sanctuaries of Tuscany" (1833). Among his best single plates are: "The Infant Samuel", after Reynolds; "Belshazzar's Feast", after John Martin
John Martin (painter)
John Martin was an English Romantic painter, engraver and illustrator.-Biography:Martin was born in July 1789, in a one-room family cottage, at Haydon Bridge, near Hexham in Northumberland, the 4th son of Fenwick Martin, a one time fencing master...
; "Wellington surveying tbe Field of Waterloo", after Benjamin Haydon
Benjamin Haydon
Benjamin Robert Haydon was an English historical painter and writer.-Biography:Haydon was born in Plymouth. His mother was the daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Cobley, rector of Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. Her brother, General Sir Thomas Cobley, was renowned for his part in the siege of Ismail...
; "The Eddystons Lighthouse" "Fishing at Margate", after Turner; some portraits of theatrical groups after Clint, and portraits after Sir Thomas Lawrence
Thomas Lawrence
Thomas Lawrence may refer to:*Sir Thomas Lawrence, British artist, President of Royal Academy*Thomas Lawrence , mayor of colonial Philadelphia*T. E. Lawrence, "Lawrence of Arabia"*Thomas Lawrence , U.S. politician...
, Henry Perronet Briggs
Henry Perronet Briggs
Henry Perronet Briggs was an English painter of portraits and historical scenes.-Life and work:Briggs was born at Walworth, County Durham, the son of a post office official. His cousin was Amelia Opie , the wife of artist John Opie...
, Thomas Phillips
Thomas Phillips
Thomas Phillips was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers.-Life and work:...
, John Watson Gordon
John Watson Gordon
Sir John Watson Gordon was a Scottish portrait painter and a president of the Royal Scottish Academy.-Life and work:He was born John Watson in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Captain Watson, R.N., a cadet of the family of Watson of Overmains, in the county of Berwick. He was educated specially with a...
, and others. Lupton started engraving, under Turner's direction, a large plate from his picture of "Calais Pier", but due to the frequent alterations made by the painter it was never completed.
Between the years 1868 and 1864, Lupton re-engraved 15 of the "Liber Studiorum" subjects for a series which it was intended to issue in parts, but the project failed and the plates remained unpublished. He was an active supporter of the "Artists' Annuity Fund", of which he was elected president in 1836.
Lupton died on on 18 May 1873 at 4 Keppel Street, Russell Square
Russell Square
Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. To the north is Woburn Place and to the south-east is Southampton Row...
, London, where he had lived for 36 years. By his marriage in 1818 to Susanna Oliver he had a family of 6 sons and one daughter. His youngest son, Nevil Oliver Lupton, born in 1828, won the "Turner" gold medal of the Royal Academy at the first competition in 1867, and was a frequent exhibitor of landscapes until 1877.
External links
- T. G. Lupton on Artnet
- Engraved portraits by Lupton (National Portrait Gallery, London)
- Fleur de Lis (Engraving after Abraham Cooper Abraham CooperAbraham Cooper , English animal and battle painter, the son of a tobacconist, was born in London.At the age of thirteen he became an employee at Astley's Amphitheatre, and was afterwards groomed in the service of Sir Henry Meux...
- Christie'sChristie'sChristie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
)