Skip navigation

Main menu

  • What's on
  • Art & Artists
    • The Collection
      Artists
      Artworks
      Art by theme
      Media
      Videos
      Podcasts
      Short articles
      Learning
      Schools
      Art Terms
      Tate Research
      Art Making
      Create like an artist
      Kids art activities
      Tate Draw game
  • Visit
  • Shop
Become a Member
  • DISCOVER ART
  • ARTISTS A-Z
  • ARTWORK SEARCH
  • ART BY THEME
  • VIDEOS
  • ART TERMS
  • SCHOOLS
  • TATE KIDS
  • RESEARCH
  • Tate Britain
    Tate Britain Free admission
  • Tate Modern
    Tate Modern Free admission
  • Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
    Tate Liverpool + RIBA North Free admission
  • Tate St Ives
    Tate St Ives Ticket or membership card required
  • FAMILIES
  • ACCESSIBILITY
  • SCHOOLS
  • PRIVATE TOURS
Tate Logo
Become a Member

Thomas Carwitham

active 1713–1733

Illustration to Ovid: The Death of Arachne
License this image
In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Rooms

3 artworks by Thomas Carwitham
View by Appointment

Biography

Thomas Carwitham was an English artist known for his drawings of figures falling or flying through the air, and for scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Examples of Carwitham's drawings are in numerous museum collections.

The dates of Carwitham's life are not known; but a sheet of studies of River Gods at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is dated 1713. His drawings have sometimes been compared with those by James Thornhill, under whom he may have studied. In 1732 Carwitham married Iphigenia Golding of Hampton, near Twickenham, whose father Edward Golding (1675–1733) was "Keeper of the deer at Hampton Court".

In 1723 Carwitham published a treatise on geometry, titled The description and use of the Architectonick Sector, And also of the Architectonick Sliding Plates in advertisements for which he was said to be a "Painter of Twickenham". Carwitham also designed a technical drawing tool called an architectonic sector, to be used in conjunction with his treatise. An example is in the History of Science Museum at the University of Oxford.

Between 1728 and 1732 Carwitham was employed by John Christopher Le Blon on a scheme to weave tapestry copies of Raphael's Cartoons. However, the enterprise failed and Carwitham took his employers to court in 1733.

This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License. Spotted a problem? Let us know.

Read full Wikipedia entry
Mannerist

Artworks

  • Fantasy of Flight

    Thomas Carwitham
    c.1713–33
    View by appointment
  • Illustration to Homer: The Gods Despatch Mercury

    Thomas Carwitham
    date not known
    View by appointment
  • Illustration to Ovid: The Death of Arachne

    Thomas Carwitham
    date not known
    View by appointment

In the shop

Browse the shop
Artwork
Close

Join in

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Sign up to emails

Sign up to emails

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Tate’s privacy policy

About

  • About us
  • Our collection
  • Terms and copyright
  • Governance
  • Picture library
  • ARTIST ROOMS
  • Tate Kids

Support

  • Tate Collective
  • Members
  • Patrons
  • Donate
  • Corporate
  • My account
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Contact
© The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, 2025
All rights reserved