Anker Smith

[2] In 1787 Smith found his first independent employment with John Bell, for whose series of British Poets he engraved many of the illustrations.

Through his relative John Hoole he became known to John Boydell, who commissioned him to engrave James Northcote's picture Death of Wat Tyler; the print was published in 1796, and earned for him election as an associate of the Royal Academy in the following year.

[2] In 1798 Smith executed a large plate from Leonardo da Vinci's cartoon of the Holy Family in the possession of the Academy.

For the rest of his life Smith worked on illustrations to fine editions of standard works, such as:[2] He engraved many of Robert Smirke's designs for the Arabian Nights, 1802; Gil Blas, 1809; and Don Quixote, 1818; and was one of the artists employed on the official publication Ancient Marbles in the British Museum.

His last work was a large plate from Thomas Heaphy's picture, The Duke of Wellington giving Orders to his Generals, which he did not live to complete.