Page:Dictionary of Artists of the English School (1878).djvu/273



KIRK,, R.H.A., sculptor. Was born in Cork in 1784, and studied in the schools of the Royal Dublin Society. He practised his art in Dublin, and was an exhibitor at the Dublin Exhibition in 1810. On the foundation of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1823 he was one of the first members. One of his earliest public works was the colossal statue of Nelson for the memorial pillar erected to him in Sackville Street, Dublin. The statue of George IV. and of the Duke of Wellington are also by him, as are the figures of Justice and Clemency in the court-house, Londonderry; the statue of Lord Monteagle, Limerick; and several of the busts in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. His 'Orphan Girl' and 'Young Dog Stealer* were much esteemed in Ireland; and his marble statue of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith in the Painted Hall, Greenwich Hospital, was one of his last works. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, in 1825, busts of Mr. Wilson Croker and his daughter, and was also an exhibitor in 1839, 1845, and 1846. He died in Dublin in 1845.

KIRKALL,, engraver. Was the son of a locksmith at Sheffield, and born there about 1695. He was instructed in drawing in his native town, and came to London, where he found employment as an engraver of arms, stamps, and ornaments for books. He is supposed by the initials to have engraved the plates, which have much merit, for an edition of 'Terence,' published in 1713. In 1722 he published by subscription 12 mezzo-tints, produced by a method he had invented—a combination of etching and mezzo-tint with wood blocks—the outlines and darks printed from copper, the tints printed afterwards from wood blocks; but though the process had merit, he does not appear to have been able to perfect it. In 1724 he published 17 tinted engravings after Vandevelde. He engraved on copper the illustrations to Howe's translation of 'Lucan's Pharsalia,' 1718; and to Inigo Jones's 'Stonehenge,' 1725. In mezzo-tint he engraved the seven cartoons of Raphael.

KIRKALL, L., engraver. Practised about the beginning of the 18th century. There are by him three large engravings—'A Bear Hunt,' 'Wild Boar Hunt,' and 'Stag Hunt.'

KITCHEN,, engraver. He practised about the middle of the 18th century. There are some clever heads, elaborately engraved, by him, and some views: he also engraved some maps. He was chiefly employed upon book-illustration. Thomas Kitchen practised about the same time, but was mostly engaged on map-engraving.

KITCHINGMAN,, miniature painter. He was a pupil of Wm. Shipley, and was admitted a student of the Academy, where he gained a good knowledge of the figure. He obtained several premiums at the Society of Arts. He exhibited miniatures at the Free Society of Artists 1766-68, and from the year 1770 at the Academy, some of these being theatrical portraits in character. He also painted in oil some genre subjects, marines, and landscapes. Fond of the water, he gained in 1777 the silver cup at the Thames sailing match; and he painted four pictures, which were engraved by Pouncey, to illustrate the progress of a cutter. These he exhibited at the Academy, his last contribution, in 1781. He married early in life a girl as young as himself, and separated from her after a few years. He then fell into habits of intemperance and irregularity, and died, aged about 40, December 28, 1781, immediately after the amputation of his leg, the bone of which was diseased.

KNAPTON,, portrait painter. Born in London in 1698, the son of a book-seller. He was the pupil of Richardson, and his early works were in crayons. In 1740 he went to Italy, and wrote an interesting account of the discoveries at Herculaneum. He held the office of painter to the Dilettanti Society, and in 1765, of keeper of the King's pictures. He was associated with Arthur Pond in engraving and publishing engravings from the drawings of eminent masters. At Hampton Court there is a large and pretentious group by him of the family of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The widowed princess forms the centre, with the child born after its father's death in her lap, surrounded by her four other daughters and four sons, and in the background a full-length portrait of her late husband. All the figures are life-size and in action, the portraits, dresses, and draperies carefully painted, and every part defined with a scrupulous care that defied art. The grouping is formal and unpleasant, all the figures cut out from the back-ground. But some of his portraits in the Dilettanti Society give a better opinion of his art, which is by no means without merit. He died in 1778, aged 80, and was buried at Kensington.

KNAPTON,, engraver and publisher. Brother of the foregoing. Published, in 1734-35, some aqua-tint

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