Description:
This mezzotint portrait of Thomas Pownall (1722-1805) was engraved by Richard Earlom (1743-1822) after a painting by the British artist Francis Cotes (1726-1770). The print would be distributed by R. Sayer & J. Bennett of Fleet Street in London (the inscription notes the No. 53 Fleet Street residence, March 20, 1777).
Label Text:
Thomas Pownall served as colonial governor of Massachusetts (1757-1760) during the French and Indians wars. He supported the American cause prior to the Revolutionary War and argued against unfair taxation without representation. Due to his views and support of the colonists, Pownall was dismissed and transferred to the governorship of South Carolina (1760). While in the colonies, Pownall completed a series of drawing for a collection of printed North American views, Scenographia Americana, which were jointly published by London print dealers. Upon returning to England, he sat in the House of Commons from 1767-1780 and continued his interest in colonial affairs. He published anonymously the treatise The Administration of the Colonies which explored the relationship between Britain and its American colonies. After the Revolutionary War, he also advocated for establishing a relationship between Britain and the United States. This mezzotint would have been printed while Pownall advocated for the colonies on the eve of revolution. Mezzotints became a favored method for the quick dissemination of timely images.
During the time of the mezzotint’s printing, London became the center of print production in the late years of the 18th century. Richard Earlom was a notable mezzotint and stipple engraver during this period. This work showcases Earlom’s skill as an engraver and his ability to capture the nuance of shadows and tonalities, especially seen with the folds of Pownall’s coat and curls along his wig. He developed a technique in which he often etched designs into the plate before he rocked the surface. With this process, he introduced into his mezzotints the fine-line details and textural effects that audiences associated with etchings. The image would eventually be published by Robert Sayer and John Bennett, two men who ran one of the largest print-and map-publishing businesses in London and produced images that responded to the conflict in the British colonies in North America.
Given the high tonal range of this work, the Pownall portrait is likely an early print from the series. This example is a rare proof print or “proofs before letters,” in other words, impressions taken before the first edition was printed with copper-plate lettering. Mezzotint proofs often enabled the engraver to account for any corrections and align the text. This example includes a faint pencil inscription noting the artist, engraver, and London publisher. There was likely a change of plans in the letters and an engraver tried to scrub the plate, gave up, and eventually added a new piece of copper for the final series (seen with the different title on the final print, such as the Harvard Art Museums example). The hand-written text on the lower portion of the print is also an earlier date and includes a phrase not seen on successive printings (the inscriber wrote 20 March, 1777 versus the final version of 5 June, 1777).
Subjects:
Mezzotint engraving Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2024.22 |
