About Thomas Bewick - British Artist

About Thomas Bewick

The Bewick Society - Home page

The website of the Bewick Society
The Bewick Society is run by unpaid volunteers and is a non-profit making society that seeks to further the appreciation and understanding of the work of Thomas Bewick and his Apprentices. All our costs are funded by membership fees and voluntary contributions

Bewick Society - A Biographical Overview

The website of the Bewick Society

Chronology of Thomas Bewick

Chronology of Thomas Bewick(from Bain, I., ed., 1975 Thomas Bewick - a MemoirWritten by Himself. Oxford University Press) 175310 or 12 August, born at Cherryburn, Eltringham, Northumberland, eldest son ofJohn Bewick (1715-85), farmer and tenant of land-sale colliery. Baptized Ovingham 19 August1760

Discovering Bewick

Discovering Bewick
The Discovering Bewick project aims to make accessible works by the eighteenth century wood-engraver Thomas Bewick which are held in collections at the Laing Art Gallery and City Library (Pease Collection) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This representative selection shows images which maybe familiar as well as others that have never been displayed before now. All the examples are original (not reproduced) works by Thomas Bewick or his apprentices. They include paintings, drawings, woodblocks, copperplates and the exquisite wood-engravings which made Thomas Bewick a celebrity in his own lifetime.

The McCune Collection: Thomas Bewick (1753-1828)

Thomas Bewick was born in Northumberland, England. In his early teens, he became apprenticed as an engraver to Raph Beilby in Newcastle. After having served out his seven year apprenticeship, Bewick later became a partner with Beilby. Although Bewick illustrated children books, he is best known for his works on natural history (A General History of Quadrupeds 1785 and A History of British Birds Vol. 1- 1797; Vol. 2 - 1804).

National Trust | Cherryburn - the birthplace of Thomas Bewick

Cottage and farmhouse, the birthplace of Thomas Bewick, Northumberland's greatest artist, woodgraver & naturalist

Thomas Bewick

Thomas BewickBorn: 12-Aug-1753
Birthplace: Cherryburn, Northumberland, England
Died: 8-Nov-1828Location of death: Gateshead, Durham, EnglandCause of death: unspecified

Thomas Bewick: Bibliography

Thomas Bewick

Engraver (12-Aug-1753 - 8-Nov-1828)

SUBJECT OF BOOKS

Publications by Thomas Bewick

Bewick Society - Galleries - Publications page

The website of the Bewick Society, Galleries - Publications

Bewick Society - Major Publications - Vignettes and Tailpieces page

The website of the Bewick Society

A General History of Quadrupeds - The figures engraved on wood

wood engravings by Thomas Bewick

Google Books - A general history of quadrupeds

Read "A general history of quadrupeds" By Thomas Bewick, Ralph Beilby

Google Books: A general history of quadrupeds

Download " A general history of quadrupeds" By Thomas Bewick, Ralph Beilby

General History of Quadrupeds

A General History of Quadrupeds

The History of British Birds

British Birds: Land Birds

The History of British Birds: Land Birds

The great success of The General History of Quadrupeds encouraged Bewick to turn his attention to a similar work on birds. Sidney Roscoe has pointed out that the idea of producing a work on birds dated back to the spring of 1786, just a few short months after he had begun engraving the blocks for Quadrupeds. A cautious man, Bewick did not really turn to the project until the rapid sales of the first editions of Quadrupeds.

The first volume of the History of British Birds, the Land Birds published in September of 1797

History of British Birdsby Thomas Bewick Vol. I containing the History and Description of Land BirdsEdition of 1797
The first volume of the History of British Birds, the Land Birds, was first published in September of 1797, containing a text by Beilby, much revised by Bewick. This first edition contained 117 figures of birds, along with 91 vignettes. By clicking on a title in the left frame on this page, you can view the vignette below as well as information related to it.

British Birds: Water Birds

Bewick was solely responsible for both the text and the engravings for the second volume of the History of British Birds - the Water Birds

This was published in July 1804, more than six years after the publication of the first volume.

After the earlier editions, revisions of both volumes would generally be published and released together.

History of British BirdsVolume II, containing the History and Description of Water Birds second edition, 1805

History of British BirdsVolume II, containing the History and Description of Water Birds second edition, 1805

Wood Cuts by Thomas Bewick

Thomas Bewick's tale-pieces for his Birds of Britain.

Thomas Bewick's wood engraving - tools and techniques

Bewick Society - Galleries - Techniques page

The website of the Bewick Society, Galleries, Techniques, Bewicks tools

Thomas Bewick (1753-1828) - Engraving Technique

The work for which Thomas Bewick became known as a master was wood engraving. The wood engraving technique made possible the printing of Bewick's books in relatively large editions, with the illustrations appearing alongside the text, rather than in a series of separate "plates" as was usually the case with books illustrated with engravings from copper plates.
Wood engraving, as practiced by Bewick was white-line engraving. Essentially, this is a dark-to-light technique whereby the white areas are cut away. Any black line on the print is essentially the impression the raised line in between two incised lines. The greater naturalism of a subject drawn in terms of light and dark was really the essence of Bewick's engraving. He did not have to resort to the use of cross-hatching in imitation of drawing.

One of the refinements employed by Bewick in his wood engraving technique was that of 'lowering' areas of the block so that, upon printing, the 'lowered' areas printed more lightly, resulting in the achievement of greater illusion of atmospheric perspective and depth, and a more varied and interesting image.

Thomas Bewick - images online

Wood Cuts by Thomas Bewick

Thomas Bewick's tale-pieces for his Birds of Britain.

Bewick Society - Collections - On The World Wide Web

The website of the Bewick Society

Childen's Literature - Thomas Bewick

Thomas Bewick(1753-1828)
Thomas Bewick is considered to be the finest of all English practitioners of wood engraving. He and his younger brother John (1760-1795) illustrated a number of books that were read by children from the late eighteenth century onwards.

Thomas Bewick - in exhibitions, museums, art galleries and university libraries

British Museum - Cumberland and Carlisle Bank £5 note

Bewick is renowned today for his natural history woodcuts, but he undertook a wide range of work, including notes for banks in the north of England. He was interested in deterring forgery, and experimented with methods of engraving on copper to reproduce the effect of wood-engraving. Even on banknotes, Bewick's love of nature is evident.

Bewick Society - Collections page

The Bewick Society has been compiling a list of the main collections and sites of Thomas Bewick works and engravings. This is by no means an exhaustive catalogue but it does cover the most important work available to the general public, principally in the United Kingdom and the USA.

Bewick Society - Collections - National page

The website of the Bewick Society

Bewick Society - Collections - Abroad

The website of the Bewick Society

The Guardian - slideshow of Bewick's work in the Icon exhibition

Thomas Bewick's engravings look like a smudge from a distance, but up close the miniature masterpieces detailing the lives of 18-century louts and rascals had Adrian Searle mesmerised - when they weren't making him smirk and laugh. The exhibition, Thomas Bewick: Tale-pieces, shows a collection of tiny sketches of woodblock engravings from the artist and runs at the Ikon gallery, Birmingham, until 25 May 2009

The Ikon Gallery - Thomas Bewick Tale Pieces (until 25th May 2009)

Ikon is an internationally acclaimed contemporary art venue located in Birmingham, UK.

Ikon presents the first exhibition devoted entirely to the vignettes of British wood engraver, artist and naturalist Thomas Bewick.

Born in Cherryburn, near Mickley, Northumberland in 1753, Bewick worked in Newcastle until his death in 1828. Clearly infuenced by his childhood on a small farm on the banks of the river Tyne, Bewick's love of the countryside is reflected in his detailed woodcuts of animals, birds and rural scenes. Amongst his most ambitious projects were illustrations for General History of Quadrupeds (1790) and History of British Birds (two volumes, 1797 and 1804), both of which also included a great number of vignettes. Bewick referred to these as 'tale-pieces'. Intended as illustrations of "some truth or point of some moral" they provide an invaluable insight into social history while also demonstrating the artist's imagination and wit.

Thomas Bewick - Exhibition Guide (pdf file)

A fully illustrated catalogue will be available for £24.95, special exhibition price £19.95 (only available in person at Ikon).

In addition Ikon has produced a limited edition, printed on a hand press by Iain Bain from three original Bewick woodblocks. This is an edition of 75, priced £85 and shows three vignettes.

Discovering Bewick - The Collections

The Discovering Bewick project aims to make accessible works by the eighteenth century wood-engraver Thomas Bewick which are held in collections at the Laing Art Gallery and City Library (Pease Collection) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This representative selection shows images which maybe familiar as well as others that have never been displayed before now. All the examples are original (not reproduced) works by Thomas Bewick or his apprentices. They include paintings, drawings, woodblocks, copperplates and the exquisite wood-engravings which made Thomas Bewick a celebrity in his own lifetime.

Southwestern University - Library - Bibliography

List of Bewick's Works at Southwestern University

Other Collections

Other Collections
Beyond the collection of the Edmonton Art Gallery, which provides the basis for this site on the engraving of Thomas Bewick and his workshop, there are other collections, especially in Great Britain, where the work of Thomas Bewick has been preserved for the enjoyment of present an

Articles about Thomas Bewick

The Guardian - Thomas Bewick's cheeky woodcuts (Thursday 16 April 2009 )

Thomas Bewick's woodcuts of louts, fools and rascals from 18th-century rural life are miniature masterpieces. Adrian Searle is captivated by their cruel humour.

How small they are: each of these worlds could fit into the palm of your hand. There are two on each sheet of paper, one above the other, lining the walls of the Ikon gallery in Birmingham in their dozens. From a distance, they look like little grey smudges or blotted clouds. I get up close, squinting. A gallery assistant brings a magnifying glass, and the scene suddenly looms in all its detail. Farms and villages, rocks and rivers, the walled estates of the rich, the hovels of the poor.

Populated by a cast of fools and drunks, fishers and hunters, Thomas Bewick's late 18th-century/early 19th-century Tale-pieces are full of disconcerting, captivating incident.