Aldous, W.

Introduction:

Very little is known about W Aldous. He is presumed to be the same ‘Mr. Aldous’ recorded in Jackson’s Dictionary as the artist whose print of the Duke of York circulated after the Duke’s death in 1827. While a W Aldous is known to have exhibited portraits at the Royal Academy between 1824 and 1827, the ‘Aldous’ print of the Duke of York does not include an initial. However, both the print and the exhibited portraits give the same address at Greater Russell Street, London. This would seem to imply that all these works were done by the same artist. W. Aldous was primarily a painter of portraits, a miniaturist and an engraver. His inclusion as a silhouettist rests solely upon the one print which, it is presumed, Aldous engraved before printing as a stock image. He may have produced more ‘traditional’ style silhouettes. However, no evidence of these has been found.