Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Brookshaw, Richard
BROOKSHAW, RICHARD (fl. 1804), mezzotint engraver, was for some years chiefly employed at low remuneration in engraving reduced copies from popular prints by MacArdell, Watson, and others; then going to Paris he established himself in the 'Rue de Tournon, vis-à-vis l'Hôtel de Nivernois, chez le Bourrelier,' and in 1773 published a pair of portraits of the dauphin, afterwards Louis XVI, and Marie-Antoinette. These proved so popular that Brookshaw made at least five repetitions of them of different sizes. His talents were highly appreciated in France, and during his residence there he produced some excellent plates, which are now scarce. Whether he returned, at any time, to England is not known, neither is the place or date of his death; the latest record of him are some plates in the 'Pomona Britannica,' published in 1804. His best works published in France were the above-mentioned portraits, and those of the Duke of Orleans, the Countess d'Artois, and the Countess de Provence. Among those engraved in England are 'Christ on the Cross,' after A. van Dyck (1771); 'Thunderstorm at Sea,' after H. Kobell (1770); 'The Jovial Gamesters,' after A. van Ostade; portraits of Miss Greenfield (1767) and Miss Emma Crewe and her sister, after Sir Joshua Reynolds.
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists, 1878.]