Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Bellin, Samuel
BELLIN, SAMUEL (1799–1893), engraver, son of John Bellin of Chigwell, Essex, was born on 13 May 1799. He studied for some years in Rome, where he made some excellent copies of celebrated pictures, and acquired great facility as a draughtsman. On his return to England, about 1834, he devoted himself to engraving, and became one of the leading workers in mezzotint and the mixed method. His plates, which are all from pictures by popular English painters of the day, include 'The Meeting of the Council of the Anti-Corn Law League,' after J. R. Herbert; 'Heather Belles,' after J. Phillip; 'The Council of War in the Crimea,' after A. Egg; 'The Gentle Warning,' after F. Stone; 'The Heart's Resolve,' and 'The Momentous Question,' after S. Setchell; 'Milton composing "Samson Agonistes,"' after J. C. Horsley; 'Opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851,' after H. C. Selous; 'Salutation to the Aged Friars,' after C. L. Eastlake; 'Dr. Johnson's Visit to Garrick,' after E. M. Ward; and portraits of the Prince Consort, Lord John Russell, and Joseph Hume, M.P. His latest plate appeared in 1870, when he retired from the profession. Bellin drew and etched on three plates a panoramic view of Rome from Monte Pincio, which he published, with a dedication to the Duke of Sussex, in 1835. He was an original member of the Graphic Society. He died at his house in Regent's Park Road, London, on 29 April 1893.
[Athenæum, 6 May 1893; Andresen's Handbuch für Kupferstichsammler.]