James McArdell

McArdell, James, after · 1771

Mezzotint portrait on paper of James MacArdell (1729-1765), engraved by his pupil Richard Earlom (1743-1822) and published in London by Robert Sayer (1725-1974) in 1771. It is a copy of a self-portrait by James McArdell drawn in 1765. McArdell holds a mezzotint scrapper and his arm rests on a copper plate mezzotint engraving of 'Time clipping the wings of Love (Cupid)' after a painting by Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). Irish artist James McArdell apprenticed to John Brooks in Dublin before moving to London in c. 1746. He was a member of the so-called ‘Dublin school’ of mezzotint engravers working in London and is considered one of the most outstanding artists in that medium. He was a favourite of Sir Joshua Reynolds and published many of his own plates, most of which were posthumously acquired by publisher Robert Sayer, who had them reworked and reissued.