William James Bennett print collection
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Abstract
Early engravings and aquatints of New York City and other east coast port cities.
Biographical Note
William James Bennett was born in England in ca. 1784, and was educated in painting, sculpture, and engraving at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. He was an active exhibitor of watercolors in London in the years between 1808 and 1825, and produced aquatint plates for many illustrated books. He immigrated to the United States in 1826, where his reputation as a watercolorist ensured his election the next year as associate member of the National Academy of Design. Bennett often exhibited at the National Academy, and from 1830 to 1840 he was named Keeper, a teaching and administrative post which allowed him to live in the NAD's building.
In addition to his skill with watercolors, Bennett was also a master of aquatint, and made prints after many of his own paintings. His first set of commissioned prints in New York, which were published as Megarey's Street Views in the City of New-York; are all scenes of Manhattan which he rendered first in watercolor, then as aquatints. While many other painters and printers worked on bucolic landscape views which were increasingly popular with the public, Bennett often chose cityscapes or street scenes as his subject. These subjects proved to be popular as well; Bennett exhibited his work regularly in the United States, and was sought after as an engraver and illustrator. In 1843 and 1844 he engraved ten illustrations for the pages of the New Mirror, a New York City literary publication issued weekly by George P. Morris and Nathaniel P. Willis. Bennett died in May of 1844. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Source: Deak, Gloria Gilda, William James Bennett: Master of the Aquatint View (New York: New York Public Library, 1988).
Arrangement
The prints are arranged in two series, each filed chronologically:
Series I. Views of New York City
Series II. Views outside New York City
Scope and Contents
The William James Bennett Print Collection spans the period from ca. 1826 to 1844 and contains 46 prints of 33 aquatint views engraved by Bennett, both black and white and hand-colored. This collection contains several prints of New York City scenes and views, as well as views of other cities in the southern United States and as far west as Michigan. Most of the prints were published either by Henry J. Megarey or Lewis P. Clover, both New York printers. The majority of Bennett's large American engravings are represented here, and many were engraved by Bennett after his own drawings. Others were engraved after drawings or paintings by John William Hill, Nicolino Calyo, and other, lesser-known, artists. The collection is arranged into two series: Views of New York City; and Views Outside New York City.
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Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as William James Bennett Print Collection, PR 220, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection is compiled from a variety of gifts and purchases. The largest gift came on November 16, 1900. The portfolio (with wrappers) of Megarey's Street Views in the City of New-York, which was originally owned by the engraver James Smillie, was a gift of his descendent Mrs. Ralph Smillie in 1969.