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Ryland, William Wynne
(b London, July 1732; d London, 29 Aug 1783). English engraver and print-publisher. He was the first important English stipple engraver. The son of an engraver, Edward Ryland (d 1771), he was apprenticed to Simon-François Ravenet (i), and he later studied in Paris. On returning to London he produced in 1761 a line engraving of the young George III after Allan Ramsay (see O’Donoghue, no. 95), the first of four fine full-lengths, and in 1762 he was appointed engraver to the king. In 1764 he began to engrave drawings in the crayon manner, learnt in Paris, for the Collection of Prints in Imitation of Drawings (1788), compiled by Charles Rogers (1711–84). In 1767 Ryland entered into partnership with Henry Bryer (c. 1744–76), selling prints, mostly by others, but the partners went bankrupt in 1771. In 1770 he was involved in a disastrous speculation, exporting pictures and prints to India on borrowed money. He resumed print-selling in 1772, publishing mezzotints after Angelica Kauffman. After beginning to engrave in stipple (see STIPPLE (i), §2) in 1774 he became successful, issuing some 50 very popular stipples, mostly after Kauffman; she retouched proofs for him and on occasion painted or drew specifically for him. Several of his images, such as the pensive Maria (1779), from an illustration to Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey, were used on all kinds of decoration and became known throughout Europe. In 1780 he held an exhibition of prints after pictures by Kauffman, possibly the first exhibition by a London print-seller. Ryland lived expensively; despite high earnings, he was in such difficulties, because of his Indian debts, that he forged bills of exchange to the value of £7000, and he was executed.
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