John Boydell

John Boydell was born in 1719 in the village of Dorrington, a village of Shropshire, England. At a young age, he decided he was interested in engraving, and took up the art as an apprentice. In 1745, he published a series of landscapes that could be used by learners of the art, something not before available. This led to his initial success in his field, and the start of his wealth.

As life progressed, Boydell continued his own engraving, while also becoming increasingly involved in dealing prints. By 1782, he was named the richest print dealer in the world. At the same time, he also steadily advanced in the political sphere, eventually attaining the position of Lord Mayor of London in 1790.

In 1785, Boydell would embark on what was--and perhaps still is--one of the most ambitious projects in the history of painting. The objective was to commission 100 paintings from the world's most famous painters at the time, each depicting a scene from one of Shakespeare's plays. Each painting was to present the characters in life size, and was to be subsequently engraved by the world's eminent engravers. Thus, the project, which spanned almost 20 years, ended up relying upon 32 painters and 33 engravers--2 sculptors were also hired for works that would appear on the building that was built to house all these paintings.

To bring together all the best artists, Boydell put out an request for anyone with sufficient talent to submit a painting. Any serious effort would receive 1 guinea, with those chosen receiving 100 guineas. At the same time, he directly sought out the most famous artists, such as Sir Joshua Reynolds, the president of the Royal Academy.

As the project neared completion, Boydell found that there was no suitable home for all 100 paintings in London. To correct this, he built the Shakespeare Gallery in Pall Mall. Also, as the project neared completion, Boydell began to run out of money. Some members of the British upper-class stepped in to donate money, but this was not enough to save Boydell's dream of creating a public viewing space for these great works of art.

Shortly after the Gallery's completion in 1804, Boydell was forced to put all of the paintings up for auction. They were all purchased, and subsequently scattered across the globe. Boydell also passed away as his grand project was meeting its own end.

Many of the paintings were purchased to be kept in private collections. One painting of King Lear was brought to Boston, to be housed at the Boston Athenaeum, a private library still open today.

All biographical information comes from the prefatory material to the American Edition of Boydell's Illustrations of the Dramatic Works of Shakespeare, by the most Eminent Artists of Great Britain., Vol. 1. New York: Restored and Published with Original Descriptions of the Plates by Shearjashub Spooner, A.B M.D., 1852. Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library/Rare Books.