J. Sympson

A British printmaker active from the 17th to 19th centuries, J. Sympson carved everyday scenes and curious oddities that were sold in city shop windows and tavern back rooms. One sheet in the H Beard Print Collection shows a street vendor rolling a barrel, another pair of plates display the exact tools of a cooper at work. You’ll find the same lively line and sharp shadows in a third piece that turns a London street into a stage set of shadows and carts. Tap to see how printmakers like Sympson turned noise into neat black-and-white stories.