Thomas Uwins

Thomas Uwins (24 February 1782 in London – 26 August 1857) was an English portrait, subject, genre and landscape painter (in watercolour and oil), and a book illustrator. He became a full member of the Old Watercolour Society and a Royal Academician, and held a number of high-profile art appointments including librarian of the Royal Academy, Surveyor of Pictures to Queen Victoria and Keeper of the National Gallery.

Uwins was born at Hermes Hill, Pentonville in London, the youngest of the four children of Thomas Uwins, a clerk in the Bank of England. David Uwins (c. 1780-1837), physician and medical writer, was his elder brother. Thomas showed talent as an artist from an early age, and had some instruction from the drawing-master at his sister's school. He was a day scholar at Mr. Crole's school in Queen's Head Lane, Islington, for 6 years, and in 1797, at the age of 15, was apprenticed to the engraver Benjamin Smith (d. 1833). While with Smith he engraved part of a plate for John Boydell's editions of 'Shakespeare' but had an attack of jaundice, said to have been caused by overwork and dislike of the drudgery of engraving, and left without completing the apprenticeship.

In 1798, Uwins entered the schools of the Royal Academy, London, and joined Sir Charles Bell's anatomical class, supporting himself mainly by painting portrait miniature. He exhibited a portrait of a "Mr. G. Meyers" at the academy in 1799. He also - now or later - gave lessons in drawing, and about 1808 began to design frontispieces and vignettes to Thomas Day's "The History of Sandford and Merton", 'Robinson Crusoe' and others, for J. Walker of Paternoster Row. He also designed for bookseller Thomas Tegg (1776–1845), drew engravers' outlines for Charles Warren the engraver, and produced work for Rudolph Ackermann's 'Repository of Fashions' for which he also wrote articles signed 'Arbiter Elegantiarum'. One of his drawings exhibited at the academy in 1808 was a portrait of Charles Warren's daughter, Mrs. Luke Clennell, as Belphoebe in Spenser's 'Faerie Queene'.

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