Havell family

The Havell family of Reading, Berkshire, England, included a number of notable engravers, etchers and painters, as well as writers, publishers, educators, and musicians. In particular, members of this family were among the foremost practitioners of aquatint; and had a long association with Indian art and culture. The family first came to notice through the brothers Luke Havell (drawing master, 1752?–1810) and Robert Havell the Elder (engraver and publisher, 1769–1832); along with their nephew Daniel Havell (engraver, 1786–1822).

Luke Havell, born 1752, was lifted from a future life as a farmhand when a local squire recognised his talents and apprenticed him to a signwriter named Ayliffe Cole, from 1762 to 1764. He was appointed drawing master at Reading Grammar School, where he served under the headmastership of Richard Valpy, and also had a small print shop in the town. He married Charlotte Phillips in 1778, and together they had fourteen children, including the painter William Havell (1782–1857), and Edmund Havell (1785–1864) who took on the print shop, and succeeded his father as drawing master at the school.

Robert Havell Sr. (29 December 1769 – 21 November 1832) was the proprietor of a printing and engraving shop, with an ancillary business in natural history artefacts, in the Marylebone district of London, in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Robert was the brother of Luke Havell, and named as such in Luke's will; another brother, William, a butcher, was buried in Reading in 1832. In February 1793 Robert married Lydia Miller Phillips at St Sepulchre church in London; their eldest son Robert was born in Reading in December the same year. By 1801 Havell was established at 3 Chapel Street, off Tottenham Court Road, in London, giving his occupation as "artist". Robert died in 1832, and was buried at the Old St. Pancras Church graveyard in London.

In older texts (and in the current Oxford Dictionary of National Biography), Daniel Havell is often claimed as the father of Robert (and sometimes of Luke as well); but more recent references generally place him as born in 1785, the son of Luke's brother Thomas, also a painter, who was born in 1762. The Daniel Havell who was the son of Thomas Havell was baptised on 30 November 1786 at St Mary's, Reading; married Maria Alice Wilmot (1796 1873), daughter of Dr. Samuel and Martha (née Russell) Wilmot on 5 June 1813 at St James's in Paddington; and was buried on 19 May 1822 at Kingston upon Thames, his occupation given as "artist". His widow married artist John Gendall (1790 1865).

Robert Havell Jr. (25 November 1793 – 11 November 1878) was the principal engraver of Audubon's Birds of America, seen in America as "perhaps the most significant natural history publication of all time". His aquatint engraving of all but the first ten plates of John James Audubon's Birds of America is now recognised as a significant artistic achievement in its own right and an essential component of the success of Birds of America. He and Audubon became close friends and associates during their lengthy collaboration. In 1839 Havell went to America at the invitation of Audubon, first residing in Brooklyn. He settled in Ossining on the Hudson River and later moved to Tarrytown, New York, living there from 1857 through his remaining years. Although Havell continued to work in aquatint and engraving (primarily city panoramas), he devoted most of his attention to painting the countryside of the Hudson River valley. He travelled frequently in a homemade horse drawn trailer, sketching and taking notes and translating his sketches into larger oils. Robert Havell Jr. is considered a member of the Hudson River School of American painters. He died in 1878 and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in New York state.

The following list of Luke Havell's descendants is incomplete; covering only those referenced in published sources. Luke Havell: drawing master and painter. Born Reading; married Charlotte Phillips 1778; died 1810 Reading. William Havell: landscape painter in watercolours and oils; frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy; travelled and painted in China, India, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and Italy. Born 1782 Reading; died 1857 Kensington. Herbert Lord Havell: classicist and writer; his posthumously published Republican Rome (1914) is still in print. Born 1863 Reading; died 1913 Oxford. Charles Havell: painter and drawing master at the Reading School. Born 1792 Reading; married Thirza Cheverton 1824. Henry Havell: heraldic painter; "decorator to the King" (according to Bryan). Born 1796 Reading; married Elizabeth Sims 1821; emigrated to the United States 1829. George Havell: painter; travelled and painted in India. Born 1799 Reading; married Mary Ann Hale 1825; died 1839? India. Frederick James Havell: steel engraver in line and mezzotint and made experiments in photography. Born 1801 Reading.