Bewick, Thomas (redirected from Bewick)

Bewick, Thomas (by`ĭk), 1753–1828, English wood engraver. Bewick pioneered in the revival of original wood engraving. Among his famous early works are his illustrations for Gay's Fables (1779) and Select Fables (1784) and for Ralph Beilby's General History of Quadrupeds (1790). In 1789 he engraved the Chillingham Bull, considered one of his finest blocks. He is best known for his classic illustrations of Beilby's History of British Birds (2 vol., 1797–1804).

Bibliography

See his memoirs (1862); studies by A. Dobson (1884, repr. 1969), R. Ruzicka (1943), and G. Reynolds (1949).

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Bewick, Thomas

The Tawny Owl, wood engraving by Thomas Bewick, from his …

(credit: Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.)

(born Aug. 12, 1753, Cherryburn, Eng.—died Nov. 8, 1828, Gateshead) British wood engraver. At age 14 he was apprenticed to a metal engraver, with whom he later went into partnership in Newcastle; Bewick remained there most of his life. He rediscovered the technique of wood engraving, which had declined into a reproductive technique, and brought to it brilliant innovations, such as the use of parallel lines instead of cross-hatching to achieve a wide range of tones and textures. He also developed a method of printing gray backgrounds to heighten the effect of atmosphere and space. Some of his finest works are illustrations for books on natural history. He established a school of engraving in Newcastle.