Lupton, Thomas Goff

Thomas Goff Lupton, (born September 3, 1791, London, England—died May 18, 1873, London), English mezzotint engraver and miniatures painter who was the first artist to use soft steel plates in the art of engraving. This development permitted a printing of up to 1,500 mezzotints of excellent quality. The copper plates formerly used were very soft and could produce only 50 prints of similar quality.

Lupton was apprenticed to an engraver by his father, who was a goldsmith. After spending a number of years learning the techniques of mezzotint engraving and receiving recognition for his crayon portraits exhibited at the Royal Academy, Lupton turned his interest to improving the engraving plate. He experimented with plates of nickel, tutenag (an impure zinc alloy), and steel before he produced a satisfactory steel plate. It was well received, and from 1823 steel engravings superseded copper engravings. Lupton’s works include copies of landscape series by J.M.W. Turner as well as engraved portraits after oil paintings by eminent contemporary British painters.