(b Carlisle, c. 1738; d Bristol, 19 July 1821). English engraver and painter. He was a cousin of the landscape painter Abraham Pether (1756–1812), and a pupil of Thomas Frye, with whom he entered into partnership in 1761, the year after receiving a premium for mezzotint from the Society of Arts. In 1762 he engraved Frye’s portrait of George III in three sizes (e.g. London, BM) and for the next 15 years engraved after Old Masters, particularly Rembrandt, and also after contemporaries, particularly Joseph Wright of Derby, whose chiaroscuro effects he captured admirably in his plates of Lecture on the Orrery (1768; e.g. London, BM) and The Alchemist (1775; e.g. London, BM). He engraved over 50 plates, some published by John Boydell, but most issued by himself from various London addresses.

• Pether, William
  • pupils
    • Dayes, Edward
    • Edridge, Henry
  • teachers
    • Frye, Thomas
  • works
    • Mezzotint, §2(ii): 18th century
    • Penny, Edward
    • Reproduction of works of art, §2(ii): 18th century
    • Wright of Derby, Joseph, §1: Early career, to 1773