Samuel De Wilde

Samuel De Wilde (1751 – 19 January 1832),[1] born and died in London, was a portrait painter and etcher of Dutch descent famous for his theatrical paintings.

[4] De Wilde was baptised in London on 28 July 1751,[5] the son of a Dutch joiner who had settled there by 1748.

[6] He was apprenticed to his godfather, Samuel Haworth, a joiner in London, but left after five years and enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools from 1769.

His career in theatrical portraiture began when he was employed by John Bell as portraitist for his publication British Theatre, a series that ran from 1791 until 1795.

At his studio in Drury Lane[7] many actors and actresses came to sit for him and his theatrical portraits appeared in numerous publications, including the Monthly Mirror, John Cawthorn's Minor British Theatre and William Oxberry's New English Drama.