John Augustus Atkinson

English painter, draughtsman, engraver, illustrator. Moved to St Petersburg (1784) with his uncle, the engraver James Walker, who was invited to Russia by Catherine the Great. Painted Russian history pictures and portraits of Paul I, Alexander I and Count Alexander Surikov. Returned to England (1801), where he published A Picturesque Representation of the Manners, Customs and Amusements of the Russians (1803). Member of the Society of Painters in Water Colours (1808). Published such series of engravings as The Miseries of Human Life, by One of the Wretched (1807) and A Picturesque Representation of the Naval, Military and Miscellaneous Costumes of Great Britain (1812). Painted episodes from the Napoleonic Wars, including The Battle of Waterloo (1815), which was engraved by John Burnet (1819). Contributed to the annual exhibitions of the Royal Academy of Arts (until 1829).