Thomas Shotter Boys was born in 1803 in Pentonville, a northern suburb of London. And that's where it all began, in terms of information about his early life. Almost nothing is known about his childhood. So be it. There's an old proverb that says, "By their works you shall know them." And in this respect, the English watercolorist and lithographer has not been complacent. With his landscape watercolour paintings he conquered his place in the history of art, and he is also considered an innovative force in the use of the lithographic process.
At the age of fourteen, Thomas Shotter Boys was taken on as an apprentice by the successful engraver and copperplate engraver George Cooke, for whom he made around two hundred drawings - for example for an extensive catalogue of works by the botanist Conrad Loddiges. Thomas Shotter Boy's earliest surviving work is a graphic from 1819, and after the end of his apprenticeship he moved to Paris around 1825, where he wanted to work as an engraver. It should come differently. In the French capital he made the acquaintance of the English watercolour painter Richard Parkes Bonington, who accepted him into his artist circle, became a close friend and convinced him to turn to watercolour painting, at least in his second job. The claim that Thomas Shotter Boys was a student of Bonington is highly doubtful, however. Boys' colleague and good friend William Callow, with whom he shared a studio in Paris, categorically denies this statement.
The success as a painter failed to materialize at first because Thomas Shotter Boys was unfairly dismissed as a "Bonington imitator". He did not let himself be discouraged, however, and succeeded quite quickly in developing and establishing his own unmistakable style. After Richard Parkes Bonington's early death in 1828 he completed some unfinished works of his friend and learned the technique of lithography. He also went on extensive travels. Some stations of these travelling years were Brussels, Austria, Bohemia, Germany and Italy. Finally, he returned to England, where he first dealt with the lithographic printing process, which was still quite new at the time. In this field he produced several revolutionary works that were unparalleled. It is no exaggeration to say that the world had never seen anything like it before. But for all his successes as a lithographer, he remained true to watercolour painting during this time. And also in this profession he made a breakthrough.
He was now a celebrity in the art metropolises of London and Paris; in gratitude for his work, the French King Louis Philippe even gave him a precious ring - engraved with the initials "L.P." and decorated with a crown of diamonds of France. Thomas Shotter Boys received another great honour when he was appointed a full member of the New Society of Painters in Water-colours in 1841. But then his artistic-creative career went steeply downhill. Interest in him and his works waned and he was forced to return to his old profession as an engraver.
It is pointless to speculate about the most famous or memorable work of Thomas Shotter Boys. Rather, one can make a statement about his favourite motif. This is about the Old Town Hall in St. Omer, which he painted seven times. He was good at this, because this way the building has been preserved, at least figuratively. In 1831 it was largely destroyed by demolition, only a remnant could still be placed under monumental protection.
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.jpg "Westminster Abbey and Hospital, London by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Westminster from Waterloo Bridge, incorporating the Shot Tower, from")
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.jpg "The Tower of St. Jacques, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Fish Market, Antwerp and Hospice des Vieillards, Ghent, from Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, etc. by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Hotel de Bellevue and Cafe d")
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.jpg "Pavilion de Flore, Tuileries, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: The Tower and Mint, from Great Tower Hill by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Church of St. Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge, with the Monument in the Background by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "View of the Tower of London and the Royal Mint from Great Tower Hill by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Buckingham Palace: from St. James")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-263676).jpg "The Secretary")
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.jpg "St. Etienne du Mont and the Pantheon, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Regent Street, looking towards the Duke of York")
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.jpg "The Church of St. Magnus the Martyr by London Bridge, with Monument in the Background by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Duke")
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.jpg "London As It Is: Piccadilly, looking Eastward towards the City by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-574262).jpg "Town Hall, Hague by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Institute of France, Paris, 1830 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Blackfriars, from Southwark Bridge, from")
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.jpg "Title Page, \"Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, etc.\" by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Notre Dame, Paris, 1839 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Hôtel de la Tremouille, Rue des Bourbonnois, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The International Exhibition Buildings, South Kensington by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "View of Regent Street, Looking Towards the Duke of York")
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.jpg "Temple Bar from The Strand, London by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Porte Rouge, Notre Dame, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Hôtel de Sens, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Horseguards from St. James")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Touen, etc. by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Nôtre Dame, Paris, from the Quai St. Bernard by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Hôtel Cluny, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Sketches in Spain: Gate of the Vivarrambla, Granada by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Quadrant, Regent Street, London by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "View near the Pont Royal, with the Pavillon de Flore, Tuileries by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Blackfriars, from Southwark Bridge, from")
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.jpg "Cumberland Terrace, Regent")
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.jpg "Oxford Circus by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "L hotel de Ville, St Omer by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Queen Anne Boleyn")
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.jpg "Blackfriars, from Southwark Bridge, Plate Six from Original Views of London as It Is by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Exterior of the Church of St. Severin, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: St. Etienne du Mont by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: L")
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.jpg "Westminster Abbey, Hospital, etc. by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: Doorway, The Custom House by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "St Etienne du Mont and the Pantheon, Paris, plate 20 from Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, Etc. by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "View of Issy A Street in Issy-les-Moulineaux by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-38672).jpg "View at Swiss Cottage, London, 1836 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "St. Séverin, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Tower and Mint from Great Tower Hill, Plate Two from Original Views of London as It Is by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "St. Andre, Chartres by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Vieille Rue du Temple, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Cheapside and Mansion House by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London Bridge, from Southwark Bridge, plate four from Original Views of London as It Is by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-934086).jpg "The Ile de la Cite from the Institut, Paris, c.1830-39 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: Board of Trade, Whitehall, from Downing Street by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: from Greenwich by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "On the Seine, 1831 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Hyde Park Corner, from")
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.jpg "The Board of Trade, Whitehall, from Downing Street, from")
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.jpg "The Custom House, from")
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.jpg "The Guildhall, Interior, from")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen, Etc.: South Porch of Chartres Cathedral by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Regent Street Looking Towards the Duke of York")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1471081).jpg "The Pavillon de Flore, c.1835 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Entry to the Strand from Charing Cross, from")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-116401).jpg "Brussels from the Paris Road, 1831 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: Mansion House, Cheapside by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Westminster Abbey and Hospital, 1842 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: St. Etienne du Mont and the Pantheon, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Hyde Park Near Grosvenor Gate, plate sixteen from Original Views of London as It Is by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Hyde Park, towards the Grosvenor Gate from")
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.jpg "Regent Street Looking Towards the Quadrant, from")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Hôtel de Cluny, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Grille Des Hermès, Porte Dauphine, Palace of Fontainebleau by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "North front to St. James")
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_Belgium_-_(MeisterDrucke-877400).jpg "A View of the Church of Our Lady of Hanswijk, Mechelen, Belgium by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Fish Market, Antwerp, Belgium by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: The Strand by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: Westminster, from Waterloo Bridge by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Strand, 1842 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Hotel Cluny, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Touen, etc. by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Byloke, Ghent, Belgium by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Touen, etc. by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Laon, France by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Sketches in Spain: Remains of a Roman Bridge on the Guadalquiver, Cordova by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Abbey St. Amand, Rouen by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "A Figure beside a Building, Ghent, with Barges on the River Leye beyond, 1833 by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "The Pont des Arts, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "View of Buckingham Palace from St. James")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Notre Dame, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Abbey St. Amand, Rouen by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: St. Laurent, Rouen, France by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: Hospice des Vieillards, Ghent, Belgium by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-926384).jpg "Figures in the Park below the Observatory, Greenwich by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Picturesque Architecture in Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, Rouen: St. Etienne du Mont and the Pantheon, Paris by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "London As It Is: Hyde Park Corner by Thomas Shotter Boys")
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.jpg "Hyde Park, near Grosvenor Gate, from")
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