Paul Sandby, R.A.

Known as ‘the father of English Watercolour’ Sandby was an influential artist whose work bridged the gap between topography and landscape art.

The son of a Nottingham textile worker and the younger brother of Thomas Sandby, he was appointed in 1747 as draughtsman to the Military Survey in the Highlands where he spent five years making pen and wash topographical drawings. By 1753 he and his brother were giving drawing lessons in London, and his teaching was to remain an important income source all his life. One of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768 he became drawing master to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in the same year.

Sandby worked in oil, watercolour and bodycolour and is best known for his landscapes, real or imaginary, but he also painted historical works and country house views. An accomplished figure painter his intimate watercolour sketches of figures are popular and charming.

In 1771 he travelled through North Wales with his patron Sir Watkin Williams Wynn and in 1775 he published ' XII Views in South Wales', one of the first series of aquatints made in Britain. 'The Virtuosi’s Museum' (1778-81) is a significant collection of 108 engravings made after his drawings of country houses.

His work can be found in all major drawings collections in the British Isles and North America.

Additional Information
Royal Academy
Tate
Yale Center for British Art
Royal Collection Trust