Bewick, Thomas

Bewick, Thomas byo͞oˈĭk [key], 1753–1828, English wood engraver. Bewick pioneered in the revival of original wood engraving. Among his famous early works are his illustrations for John Gay's Fables (1779), for Aesop's Select Fables (1784), and for Ralph Beilby's General History of Quadrupeds (1790). In 1789 he engraved the Chillingham Bull, considered one of his finest blocks. He is best known for his classic illustrations of Beilby's History of British Birds (2 vol., 1797–1804).

See his memoirs (1862); biographies by R. Robinson (1887, repr. 1972) and J. Uglow (2007); studies by A. Dobson (1884, repr. 1969), R. Ruzicka (1943), G. Reynolds (1949), I. Bain (1979), and D. Gardner-Medwin, ed. (2003).

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