William Satchwell Leney

Background

William Satchwell Leney was born in London of Scotch lineage, the son of Alexander and Susanna Leney.

Career

As a youth Leney was articled to a clever, original artist, Peltro W. Tompkins, who held an appointment as historical engraver to Queen Charlotte and as drawing-master to the royal princesses. Tompkins executed considerable imaginative work as well as portraits of dignitaries, and young Leney, well-trained in the practice of both line and stipple engraving, "a smooth and dextrous worker" (Weitenkampf), followed his master into both fields. He was engraving over his own name for London publishers when he had little more than attained his majority. He introduced a series of small line plates portraying scenes from stage plays for John Bell's British Theatre (1791 - 1797), and six large plates after Fuseli and others, for Boydell's Shakespeare. He also engraved a large plate of Rubens' "Descent from the Cross".

Leney was about thirty-six when he left England for America, settling in New York. The directory for 1806-1807 shows him established as an historical engraver in Greenwich Street, "near the Market. " The New York of the opening century offered a promising field to a skilled engraver. America, beginning to take account of its assets in public men and natural beauty, was demanding portraits of the one and scenic "views" of the other, and developing an appetite for illustrated books and magazines. Leney engraved several large plates for Collins' Quarto Bible (1807), executed portrait plates for Delaplaine's Repository (1815) and the Analectic Magazine, and also a series of large plates of scenery, mostly in and about New York.

His work commanded large prices for that early day, as is shown by entries in his account-book indicating that he received as much as $100 to $150 for engraving an octavo portrait. In 1812 he threw in his lot with William Rollinson, banknote engraver, for whom he executed portrait vignettes. Rollinson's prospectus characterizes his partner as "the first artist in America and of very respectable rank in life. " About 1820 Leney retired to a farm on the St. Lawrence at Longue Pointe, near Montreal, where he passed the rest of his life. For some years he continued to engrave, executing the first banknotes for the Bank of Montreal and a series of large views of Quebec and the Montreal region, which are now rare. He left numerous descendants in Canada.

Achievements

• During his career Leney executed numerous portraits, landscapes, magazine illustrations, small line plates. Among his more important portraits were Trumbull's DeWitt Clinton, Stuart's Captain Lawrence and John Jay, West's Robert Fulton, Sully's Patrick Henry, Copley's John Adams, and Washington after Stuart and Houdon. He was awarded with the gold medal for his plate "Descent from the Cross. "

Connections

Leney was married to Sarah (White) Leney. They had nine children.

Father:

Alexander Leney

Mother:

Susanna Leney