(1780 - 1847)
John Preston Neale began his career as a clerk in the General Post Office. In 1796 he met John Varley and collaborated with him on ‘The Picturesque Cabinet of Nature’, with Varley making landscape drawings and Neale etching and colouring them. Neale first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1797. From 1804, for some 40 years, he exhibited topographical views, including some oils, at the Royal Academy, Society of Painters, British Institution and Society of British Artists. In 1816 he began work on illustrations for ‘History and Antiquities of the Abbey Church of St Peter, Westminster’ (1818-23). This was followed by plates for numerous publications, including examples on country seats (1824-29) and churches (1824-25). Neale died aged c.67.
