Samuel De Wilde
(baptised 1751-1832), Portrait painterArtist associated with 92 portraits
De Wilde studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1769. He became well known for his theatrical portraits, which he exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1792 until 1821. 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. De Wilde provided ninety-three pictures for the series, by which time his reputation had been established. Many actors and actresses came to sit to him and his theatrical portraits adorned numerous publications, including the Monthly Mirror, John Cawthorn's Minor British Theatre and William Oxberry's New English Drama.
Margaret Martyr (née Thornton) as Phoebe in Rosina
by George Cooke, published by John Cawthorn, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, published 18th January 1806
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B6.16
Samuel Simmons as Abel in 'Honest Thieves'
by Robert Smith, published by John Cawthorn, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, circa 1806
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B7.02
Maria Rebecca Davison (née Duncan) as Maria in Murphy's 'The Citizen'
by Anthony Cardon, published by John Cawthorn, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, published 15th February 1806
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B7.05
Rosoman Mountain (née Wilkinson) as Matilda in Burgoyne's 'Richard Coeur de Lion'
by Luigi Schiavonetti, published by John Cawthorn, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, published 2nd August 1806
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B7.06
John Liston as Diggory in 'All the World's a Stage'
published by John Cawthorn, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, published 1st March 1806
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B7.26
John Bannister as Ben in Congreve's 'Love for Love'
published by Charles Cooke, after Samuel De Wilde
etching, published 13th September 1806
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B7.30
Edward Anthony Rock as the Irishman in Reed's 'The Register Office'
by Richard Woodman, published by John Cawthorn, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, published 10th April 1806
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B8.55
Robert William Elliston as Duke Aranza in 'The Honeymoon'
by Patrick Maguire, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, published in the Cyclopaedian Magazine circa 1807
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B7.19
Sarah Harlowe (Mrs Waldron) as Beatrice in Ravenscroft's 'The Anatomist'
by Robert Cooper, published by George Cawthorn, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, 1807
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B7.24
Sarah Liston (née Tyrer) as Madge in Bickerstaff's 'Love in a Village'
by Edward Scriven, published by Bell & De Camp, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, circa 1809
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B8.50
John Quick as Toby Allspice in Morton's 'The Way to Get Married'
by Edward Scriven, published by Clement Chapple, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple, published 1st June 1815
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG L269.B8.38
Mary Bradshaw in Garrick's 'The Farmer's Return from London'
by Samuel De Wilde, after Johan Joseph Zoffany
watercolour, late 18th-early 19th century (circa 1762)
NPG D35
James Middleton as Salisbury in 'The Countess of Salisbury'
probably by Samuel De Wilde
watercolour, 1790s
NPG D21
by John Corner, after Samuel De Wilde
etching, published circa 1790-1795
NPG D14252
Anne Merry (née Brunton) as Calista
by Samuel De Wilde
watercolour and bodycolour with pencil, 1791 or 1792
NPG D38375
Ann Selina Storace as Euphrosyne in Milton's 'Comus'
by Jean Condé, printed for John Bell, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple engraving, published 16 June 1791
NPG D7220
possibly by Jean Condé, after Samuel De Wilde
stipple engraving, published circa 1791
NPG D18983
Elizabeth Whitlock (née Kemble)
by Philipp Audinet, published by John Bell, after Samuel De Wilde
hand-coloured etching, published 6 October 1792
NPG D41913
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.