The Death of General Wolfe

‚’Painted by B. West, Historical Painter to His Majesty’… ‘Engraved by Theod Falkeysen’.

First published by Alderman Boydell in 1776 and described as ‚’one of the most commercially successful prints ever published’; it is thought to have been the foundation of the fortune made by Boydell as a print seller. First shown at the Royal Academy in 1771, the painting was purchased by Lord Grosvenor following its rejection by King George III on the grounds that the reality of the occasion, as depicted by West, impaired the dignity of the subject. Ironically, it was West’s innovation of depicting the figures in contemporary dress that was considered groundbreaking and the making of both the painting and the subsequent engraving(s).

This edition of the engraving, with some etching, was made by Theodor Falckeisen and published by Joseph S. Klauber, Basel and Augsburg, in 1789. A same version of this print is held in both the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the RA Collection, London.

A fine impression, within a good replica of a correct eighteenth century print frame.

o.s: 27.25 in x 22 in