Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 6 works by William Pether in our catalogue
In short
To the gallery's eye, William Pether's most famous painting is Self-Portrait (1775), whose original hangs in the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. David Garrick (1717–1779) (1776) and A Man with the Initials FM complete the trio every eye recognises. Of the 6 works by William Pether in our catalog, the gallery presents the 6 most famous below, each original with its year, its museum and what makes it unique.
The artist William Pether gazes out from his 1775 Self-Portrait, capturing a moment of quiet, intense focus. He presents himself not as a distant figure, but as a man deeply immersed in the act of creation. This intimate depiction shows the artist at work, his attention fixed upon the tools and boards that define his daily existence. The image functions as a profound symbol of his dedication to his profession,…
The 3 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by William Pether | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 National Trust |
Cambridge | 2 | Moonlit Lake, with a Ruined Abbey and a Cottage with an Illuminated Window, Moonlit River Scene with a Ruined Gothic Church, and a Stone Bridge with an Angler |
 Art Gallery of Ontario |
Toronto | 1 | Self-Portrait |
 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
New York | 1 | A Man with the Initials FM |
William Pether's dated originals on this page fall within 2 years, 1775 to 1776: the gallery shows the most famous of each.
Pick a year to see its originals.
The artist William Pether gazes out from his 1775 Self-Portrait, capturing a moment of quiet, intense focus. He presents himself not as a distant figure, but as a man deeply immersed in the act of creation. This intimate depiction shows the artist at work, his attention fixed upon the tools and boards that define his daily existence. The image functions as a profound symbol of his dedication to his profession,…
Self-Portrait (1775), Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. David Garrick (1717–1779) (1776) and A Man with the Initials FM come next.
37 years old: Self-Portrait dates from 1775, and William Pether was born in 1738.
Our catalog holds 6 works by William Pether, dated from 1775 to 1776.
Mostly in National Trust (Cambridge), Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto) and Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). The museum table above lists them all.
On this page, the earliest is Self-Portrait (1775) and the latest David Garrick (1717–1779) (1776).
Moonlit Lake, with a Ruined Abbey and a Cottage with an Illuminated Window and Moonlit River Scene with a Ruined Gothic Church, and a Stone Bridge with an Angler: the National Trust, Cambridge holds 2 of the works on this page.
London, 1738. A child is born into a city of growing industry and shifting tastes. William Pether enters the world, eventually finding his way to the studio of Thomas Frye. This apprenticeship marks the beginning of a technical obsession with light. By 1761, he is no longer merely a student but a partner to Frye. The partnership provides a foundation for a career defined by the mezzotint—a method where darkness is carved away to reveal brilliance.
The work emerges from deep blacks. He does not simply draw; he excavates. His hands move across copper plates, translating the heavy shadows of Rembrandt and the dramatic, atmospheric lighting of Joseph Wright of Derby into print. In works like The Jewish Bride or A Lecture on the Orrery, the tension lies in the contrast. The light does not just sit on the surface; it seems to struggle against an encroaching gloom.
Beyond the heavy grain of the mezzotint, Pether’s hand finds a different scale. He moves from the broad, dark textures of large-scale engravings to the delicate precision of ivory. The transition is sharp. Here, the artist becomes a miniaturist, applying thin layers of paint to create intimate portraits that require a much closer gaze.
His reach extends even to the decorative arts. He applies his skill to the surface of porcelain, decorating objects with the same eye for detail found in his drawings. His repertoire is wide and occasionally unexpected:
The momentum of London life eventually gives way to a more fragmented existence. Pether moves between London, Nottingham, and Bristol. The prestige of being a foundation fellow of the Incorporated Society of Artists and a director of the same body remains, yet his physical presence drifts toward the edges of the capital. In Bristol, the grander ambitions of the engraver settle into the practicalities of a drawing-master and picture-cleaner.
The later years are marked by a quiet retreat from the center of the art world. He engages in engraving portraits of local figures like Edward Colston and Samuel Syer, working within the established traditions of his craft. By the time he reaches Montague Street in Bristol, the man who once captured the dramatic light of the masters has largely faded into obscurity. He dies in 1821, leaving behind a body of work that exists in the delicate balance between the deep shadows of the mezzotint and the fine lines of the miniature.
