John Linnell

The painter and engraver John Linnell was particularly known for representations of the English landscape and for his associations with other prominent artists, including Samuel Palmer, William Blake—from whom he commissioned several substantial series of engravings—and fellow pupils of Benjamin West.  Linnell was born in Bloomsbury on  June 16, 1792. His father was well connected to the London art world through his own work as a carver and provided access to West for early art instruction. Linnell also trained at the Royal Academy and initially pursued a career as an engraver, making his living in portraits and reproductions. Around mid-century he embarked on a lucrative career in painting, garnering a reputation for landscapes produced both as compositional features and as the background of narrative or historical subjects. He moved to Surrey in 1850 and worked steadily as a painter almost until his death early in 1882.