| AdminHistory | James Sowerby (1757 - 1822) was an English naturalist and illustrator.
Sowerby was born on 21 March 1757 in Lambeth, London, to Arabella and John. Having decided to become a painter, he began working with William Curtis, and illustrated his 'Flora Londinensis'. Sowerby then studied art at the Royal Academy and took an apprenticeship with Richard Wright. He married Anne Brettingham De Carle and they were to have three sons: James De Carle Sowerby (1787–1871), George Brettingham Sowerby I (1788–1854) and Charles Edward Sowerby (1795–1842), the Sowerby family of naturalists. His sons and theirs were to contribute and continue the enormous volumes he was to begin and the Sowerby name was to remain associated with illustration of natural history. Sowerby worked on a number of large scale publications including a 36 volume work, started in 1790, on the botany of England that was published over the next 24 years. It contained 2592 hand-colored engravings, with descriptions supplied by Sir James Edward Smith, and was entitled 'English Botany'. Sowerby also developed a theory of colour and worked on publications relating to minerology and zoology. Sowerby died on 25 October 1822. |