Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why did James Basire send William Blake to Westminster Abbey?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
William Blake
William Blake, oil on canvas by Thomas Phillips, 1807; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
James Basire sent William Blake to Westminster Abbey because he trusted the young apprentice's proficiency in his craft. Basire tasked Blake with copying the abbey's marvelous medieval monuments to provide illustrations for Richard Gough’s Sepulchral Monuments in Great Britain, a significant antiquarian work published in the late 18th century.1