George, an eminent English engraver and antiquary, was born at London in 1684. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to a Frenchman, at that time the principal engraver of arms in London; but three or four years thereafter his master failed in circumstances and returned to his own country. The next two years of Vertue's life were spent at home, after which he engaged himself with Michael Vandergucht, with whom he remained seven years. He then, in 1709, set up for himself, and had the good fortune to speedily come into notice. He obtained the patronage of Sir Godfrey Kneller; and a print of Archbishop Tillotson, which he engraved for Lord Somers, was much praised, and gained him the interest of that nobleman. About 1711 he became a member of the Society of Painting, instituted in London under Sir Godfrey Kneller. A large head of George I., after Kneller, which he engraved, was much admired, and brought him a large increase of business. To his love for his own profession he joined an ardent spirit for antiquarian research. This led him to visit various parts of England, and gained him the friendship of the Earl of Oxford, the Earl of Winchilsea, Lord Coleraine, and others. In 1717 he was appointed engraver to the Society of Antiquaries. In 1730 he published his set of twelve engravings of celebrated English poets, which is reckoned to be one of the best of his works. This was followed by the portraits of Charles I. and the royalists who had perished in his cause. His next great work was his portraits of the kings of England, &c., for the translation of Rapin's History of England. The latter years of his life were saddened by the loss of friends, among whom were his patron, the Earl of Oxford, in 1741, and the Prince of Wales in 1751, in whom he had found a warm and generous patron. He died on the 24th of July 1756, and was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey. The works of Vertue are very numerous, and are in high repute for their accuracy, though they are generally considered to be deficient in spirit. A complete list of them is given by Walpole in his Catalogue of Engravers. During his journeys through England, he had made it his business to collect Anecdotes of Painting in England, which were, after his death, published by Horace Walpole under that title, in 5 vols. 4to.

Verulam. See Bacon.