William Woollett

William Woollett was one of the most celebrated British engravers of his day. He was appointed an engraver in ordinary to King George III in 1775. Woollett’s reputation exploded after the publication of "The Destruction of the Children of Niobe" in 1761. The print drew monumental amounts of attention and earned both him and the publisher, John Boydell, significant income.

Gilbert Stuart produced a famous portrait of the engraver, which was exhibited in 1783, in which Woollett is shown working on his famous engraving of "The Death of General Wolfe” by Benjamin West (painting exhibited in 1771, print published 1776).

Woollett trained landscape artist Thomas Hearne (as an apprentice) and engraver Benjamin Thomas Pouncy (as a pupil).