Gell, Sir William

views updated May 18 2018

Gell, Sir William (1777–1836). English archaeologist and antiquarian. His publications include Topography of Troy (1804), Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca (1807), Itinerary of Greece (1810), Itinerary of the Morea (1817), and other works. With John Peter Gandy (later Deering) he published Pompeiana (1817), and later (1832) Pompeiana: the Topography, Ornaments, etc., showing the results of excavations at Pompeii since 1819. His work is of particular interest because he drew the excavations and artefacts with the aid of a camera lucida, so the images are remarkably accurate. His work influenced late Neo-Classicism, the Neo-Grec style, and many designers, e.g. Owen Jones.

Bibliography

Gell & and Gandy (1852);
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)