Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Biographical Note on Richard Westall
Biographical Note on William Westall
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Indexing: Subjects
Indexing: Added Entries
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: William Westall and Richard Westall Collection of Papers and Correspondence
Dates (inclusive): 1805-1836
Collection Number: mssHM 54281-54318, HM 63286
Creator:
Westall, William, 1781-1850.
Extent: 39 letters + one manuscript
volume and a folder of ephemera in 1 box
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains 39 items of English artists and brothers William Westall (1781-1850), an illustrator of topographical
works, and
Richard Westall (1765-1836), a painter, book illustrator, and instructor of painting and drawing to
the Princess Victoria.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. William Westall and Richard Westall Collection of Papers and Correspondence, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Correspondence and ephemera was purchased from Cesi Kellinger, February 1, 1984,
and the manuscript volume was donated by Mr. Edwards H. Metcalf, June 15, 1992.
Cataloging Decisions
1. The cataloging of this collection was begun by Sara S. Hodson in 1984 and completed by Gayle M. Barkley in 2002. It was
decided not to replace the blue colored folders in order to render the names in standard authorized form; however, the names
have been rendered consistently in this finding aid according to current standard authorized forms.
Biographical Note on Richard Westall
Richard Westall (1765-1836) was born in Hertford, England, in 1765 and, while living in London, worked as an apprentice to
an heraldic engraver;
in the evenings he studied art and was able to exhibit a portrait-drawing at the Royal Academy in 1784. He continued to paint,
both in
watercolor and oils, but his main occupation was as a prolific illustrator of books. When his large historical oil paintings
did not sell he
abandoned the medium and concentrated on book illustrating and painting watercolors, which, according to the
Dictionary of National
Biography,
was his best medium. Toward the end of his life he was an instructor of painting and drawing to the Princess Victoria.
Richard Westall never married and lived most of his life in London; he died there on December 4, 1836.
Biographical Note on William Westall
William Westall (1781-1850) was born in Hertford, England, in 1781 and was the younger brother of Richard Westall (1765-1836).
He was taught drawing by his brother and in 1801, at the age of eighteen, began a series of voyages throughout Australia,
China,
India, Madeira, and Jamaica. When he returned to England in 1807 he began to paint pictures from the drawings he made on his
journeys.
These paintings were only moderately successful and he eventually began to gain employment as an illustrator of topographical
works for various publishers; though he continued to paint and exhibit at the Royal Academy, he became best known for his
topographical illustrations.
He married Ann Sedgwick in 1820 and moved to St. John’s Wood where he lived for most of the remainder of his life and where
he died in 1850.
Bibliography
Dictionary of National Biography, vol. XX, Oxford University Press, 1921-1922 (p. 1258-1261).
Scope and Content
This collection contains correspondence, documents, engravings, and ephemera of the Westall
brothers assembled at the Huntington Library. The papers consist of 38 letters, one bound manuscript volume, and one folder
of ephemera.
Included are the correspondence of
William and Richard Westall, a bound volume of Richard Westall's illustrations, and
printed pieces and photograph reproductions of various and paintings and
illustrations. The incoming correspondence of William Westall includes letters from
Sir John Carr, William Bernard Cooke, and others. 18 letters are signed "W. Stevens,
Sedbergh, Westmoreland, England." There are six letters by Richard Westwall, written
between 1811 and 1836, including two letters addressed to his brother. Also included
is a statement of account for Richard Westall (1829). Also included is a letter by
James William Inman to a "M. Parrington." (1811). The collection also contains a the bound
manuscript volume titled
Westall’s Illustrations of Bryon’s Works, with Suitable Extras, and a Brief Memoir, with 31 printed illustrative plates drawn by Richard
Westall and engraved by various artists.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in one box and consists of correspondence arranged alphabetically by author, the manuscript volume,
and the folder of ephemera.
Indexing: Subjects
- Westall, Richard, 1765-1836. In M---- Colnaghi, Statement of account for Richard Westall, (1829, Nov. 14), London (England).
HM 54285.
- Westall, Richard, 1765-1836. In William Davies, [List of pictures returned to Richard?
- Westall], (1826, July 5). HM 54287.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. In James Williams Inman, 1776-1859, letter to M---- Parrington, (1811, Aug. 9). HM 54289.
Indexing: Added Entries
- Drawings. In William Singer, letter to William Westall, 1781-1850, (1830, Aug. 25), St. Bees (Cumberland, England). HM 64292.
- Westall, Richard, 1765-1836. Addressee for Webster Gordon, (1805, Sep. 19). HM 54288.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for Margaret Willes Beaumont, fl. 1778, (1820). HM 54281-54282.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for Sarah Black (1810, Aug. 21). HM 54283.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for Sir John Carr, 1772-1832, (1819, Nov. 15), [London (England)]. HM 54284.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for William Bernard Cooke, 1778-1855, (1811, Dec. 30). HM 54286.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for Charles Lane, (1812, June 21), Arundel (Sussex, England). HM 54290.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for R---- Page, (1806, Jan. 24). HM 54291.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for William Singer, (1830, Aug. 25), St. Bees (Cumberland, England). HM 54292.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for W---- Stevens, (1812 - 1819), Sedbergh (Westmoreland, England). HM 54293-54310.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for Richard Westall, 1765-1836, (1820), London (England). HM 54314-54315.
- Westall, William, 1781-1850. Addressee for Charles Tilton?, (1830, Mar. 24). HM 54318.
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Byron, George Gordon
Byron, Baron, 1788-1824. Works.
Westall, Richard,
1765-1836 -- Archives.
Westall, William,
1781-1850 -- Archives.
Artists -- Great Britain --
Correspondence.
Forms/Genres
Book illustrations -- Great Britain --
19th century.
Drawings -- Great Britain -- 19th
century.
Engravings -- Great Britain -- 19th
century.
Ephemera.
Letters (correspondence) -- Great
Britain -- 19th century.
Manuscripts -- Great Britain -- 19th
century.
Additional Contributors
Carr, John, Sir, 1772-1832.
Cooke, William Bernard, 1778-1855.
Inman, James, 1776-1859.
Westall, Richard, 1765-1836,
correspondent.