(1720 - 1799)
Engraver Thomas Major trained under Hubert Gravelot before becoming an assistant to Jacques-Philippe le Bas in Paris. However, he was incarcerated at the Bastille in revenge for the imprisonment of a Franco-Irish regiment, following the Battle of Culloden. After his release Major returned to England and worked as agent for Le Bas, importing prints. He was appointed Engraver to the Prince of Wales. From 1753 he imported André Laurent’s prints. He engraved drawings for ‘The Ruins of Palmyra’ (1753), ‘The Ruins of Baalbec’ (1757) and published ‘The Ruins of Paestum’ (1768). By 1756 he was appointed Chief Seal Engraver to the King. Major became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1770 but exhibited there only once. He died in Westminster.
