Claim: George Vertue was an English engraver and antiquary, who, at the age of 13, was apprenticed to a prominent heraldic engraver of French origin and later worked seven years under Michael Vandergucht, before operating independently, and eventually to become the first members of Godfrey Kneller's London Academy of Painting.
Evidence: George Vertue FSA (1684 – 24 July 1756) was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period. At the age of 13, he was apprenticed to a prominent heraldic engraver of French origin who became bankrupt and returned to France. Vertue worked seven years under Michael Vandergucht, before operating independently. He was amongst the first members of Godfrey Kneller's London Academy of Painting, who had employed him to engrave portraits.