Edward Edwards
English, 1738-1806
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Edward Edwards ARA was an English painter and etcher. He held the post of Professor of Perspective at the Royal Academy, and compiled a book entitled Anecdotes of Painters (1808).
Edwards, the elder son of a chairmaker and carver, who had come from Shrewsbury, and settled in London, was born in London 7 March 1738. He was a weakly child, with distorted limbs, and remained of very small size all his life. At an early age he went to a French Protestant school, but at fifteen was removed in order to work at his father's business.
Until the age of 18 he worked with a Mr. William Hallett, cabinet maker, upholsterer, at the corner of St. Martin's Lane and Long Acre, drawing patterns for furniture. His father then sent him to a drawing school, and in 1759 he was admitted as a student into the Duke of Richmond's gallery. He lost his father in 1760, when the support of his mother and sister devolved upon him. Edwards took lodgings in Compton Street, Soho, and opened an evening school for drawing.
He lost his mother in 1800, but continued to support his sister until his death, at the age of 68. He was buried in St. Pancras churchyard.
Edwards was proficient in etching, and in 1792 published a set of 52 etchings. Some others are contained in a volume in the collection of the British Museum. He also designed numerous illustrations, wrote verses, and played the violin.