Artist

William Bewick

William Bewick is an artist. 1 work is cataloged here, principally at Victoria and Albert Museum.

William Bewick had a habit of turning his friends into characters, sometimes literally. In the early 1800s, he’d sketch people he met on long walks around London, then carve their faces into woodblocks for book illustrations. The trick worked so well that publishers kept coming back to him.

If you’ve ever picked up a Victorian novel, you’ve probably held one of his prints without knowing it. Look for his name on the title page of The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, that’s your door in.

Works by William Bewick

Collections represented

Catalog records compiled from museum open-access collections; the artworks shown are in the public domain. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.