Samuel Okey facts for kids
Samuel Okey was a talented British artist who lived from about 1765 to 1780. He was known for making a special kind of print called a mezzotint. This is a way of engraving pictures onto metal plates to create prints. Later in his life, he moved across the ocean to British North America, which is now part of the United States.
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Life of Samuel Okey
Samuel Okey was born in London, England, on February 21, 1742. His father, also named Samuel Okey, was a printseller. We don't know much about how young Samuel learned to make mezzotints. However, the prints he signed "Samuel Okey junior" were likely made before his father passed away in 1768.
Early Achievements
Samuel Okey junior won awards, called "premiums," from the Society of Arts in 1765 and 1767. These awards showed he was a skilled artist. In 1770, he created a print called Sweets of Liberty. This print was based on a painting by John Collett. Okey published it with Charles Reak near Temple Bar in London. The print showed support for a political group known as the Wilkites.
Move to America
By 1773, Okey and Reak were working together as publishers in Newport, Rhode Island. They were listed as "print sellers and stationers on the Parade." In Newport, they published a portrait of a Baptist minister named Thomas Hiscox. This portrait was engraved by Okey after a painting by Robert Feke.
They continued to publish important portraits in America. In 1774, they published a portrait of Thomas Honyman. In 1775, they published a famous portrait of Samuel Adams, a key figure in the American Revolution. It's not clear if Samuel Okey stayed in America or went back to England after this time.
Samuel Okey's Artwork
Samuel Okey created many beautiful mezzotint prints. His first award-winning print was a mezzotint of Nancy Reynolds. He copied this from a print made by Charles Phillips, which was based on a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
In 1767, Okey showed his work at an art exhibition called the Incorporated Society of Artists. He displayed an engraving of An Old Man with a Scroll, also after Reynolds. The next year, in 1768, he showed A Mezzotinto after Mr. Cosway.
Notable Prints
Some of Okey's other important early works include:
- Mrs. Anderson, after Robert Edge Pine
- Lady Anne Dawson, after Reynolds
- Miss Gunning, and The Gunnings as Hibernian Sisters
- Nelly O'Brien, after Reynolds
- William Powell the actor, after Robert Pyle
- Miss Green and a Lamb, after Tilly Kettle
- A Burgomaster, after Frans Hals
A print titled A Modern Courtezan was published by him in 1778. However, he might have created this artwork earlier than its publication date.
