James Neagle, Engraver

(b. about 1760, d. 1822)

Engraver

From A Dictionary of Irish Artists 1913

According to Abraham Raimbach, the engraver, ("Memoirs" privately printed), Neagle was an Irishman and "an engraver of most promising abilities which seemed unfortunately to decline gradually as he grew older." Bryan and Redgrave, both of whom call him "John," say he was born in London about 1760. He was probably the James Neagle who entered the Dublin Society's Drawing Schools in December, 1776. As an engraver he worked in the line manner, confining himself almost entirely to book illustrations, and executed a large number of prints from drawings and pictures by Stothard, Smirke, Fuseli, W. Hamilton, Singleton, R. Cook and other popular artists. He engraved plates for Boydell's "Shakespeare Gallery" after Wheatley and Smirke, and did illustrations for Lavater's "Essay on Physiognomy," 1789-98; for Murphy's "Arabic Antiquities of Spain," 1816;for Forster's "Arabian Nights," 1802; "Gil Blas," 1809, and Chalmer's "British Essayists," 1802.

His most important work was "The Royal Procession in St. Paul's on St. George's Day, 1789," after a drawing by E. Dayes. Amongst other works were: "Fate of the Earl of Sandwich, blown up in his ship at Solebay in 1672"; and "The Battle of Solebay," both after E. Smirke; and "Nelson at Tenerife," after R. Westall; portrait of "Arthur Murphy," after N. Dance, 1811, and portrait of "Michael Kelly," composer, after Sir T. Lawrence.

Towards the end of his life Neagle emigrated to America and died there in 1822. He had a son, JOHN B. NEAGLE, who practised as an engraver in Philadelphia until his death in 1886 (Baker's "American Engravers and their Works," 1875). John Neagle, the American portrait painter, born in Boston in 1799, died in 1865, does not appear to have been related to James Neagle.

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