Paul Sandby, R.A.

ABPPaul Sandby, R.A. (1731- 1809)The River Wye at New Weir, HerefordshireSigned in brushpoint l.l.: P Sandby RA, watercolour and bodycolour, with old labels attached to backboard (illegible)ProvenanceThe Fine Art Society, London;Private collection, U.K.The Longstone can be seen prominently on the left of the composition above the Wye where fishermen and rowers are enjoying the river. Sandby includes the busy iron manufactory on the opposite bank. Many of the tourists who flocked to the river Wye to enjoy its picturesque scenery and to climb Yat Rock also included a visit to the forge, and images of this stretch of the river often include depictions of the lime kilns, stone quarries, and iron and tin works that dotted its banks. Paul Sandby and his brother Thomas (1717-1798) began their careers making maps and military drawings in Scotland. Founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768, they both taught in military establishments and Paul was recognised as the leading topographical artist of his time. The artist toured South Wales with Sir Joseph Banks and others in 1773 which resulted in his series of aquatints of published in 1775-1776. His detailed watercolours of the picturesque landscape and the popular prints fuelled the nascent tourism attracting visitors to the Wye Valley.

Watercolour, with a pencil sketch of a house in a landscape verso, on laid paper11.2 x 13 cmProvenance: William Arnold Sandby; John Manning, London; Private collection, UK until 2017William Arnold Sandby (c. 1828-1904) was the great-grandson of Thomas Sandby, author of the first book about the artists, Thomas and Paul Sandby-Royal Academicians, 1892, and the historian of the Royal Academy (two volumes of its history published in 1862). He had a large collection of the work of his forebears, helped organise their first exhibition at Nottingham Castle Museum in 1884 and bequeathed many of their works to museum collections.

Inscribed and dated l.l.: Tunbridge.1788, watercolour over traces of pencil on laid paper countermarked: J WHATMAN36 x 53 cm; 14 ¼ x 20 ¾ inchesProvenance: Mrs Charles E. Dunlap, her estate sale, Sotheby’s Parke Bernet Inc., New York, 3–5 December 1975, lot 337; Bought by John Baskett Ltd, London, 1975; Private collection, USA, 1976–2014; Private collection, USA, by descent, 2014–2018.Exhibited: Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, 1980, British Watercolours and Drawings 1750–1925, ill. in colour, as pl. 10, p. 26. Davis & Langdale Company, New York, British Drawings 1760–1925, 1980, ill.This delightful view of Tonbridge (the town of bridges) shows the Great Bridge over the river Tunn with the keep of Tonbridge Castle in the background. On the east side of the High Street, the building on the north bank of the Great Bridge, on the right of the composition, was occupied by Widow Wise and Simon Wise, who manufactured Tunbridge Ware, a type of decoratively inlaid woodwork, often in the form of boxes. East of the High Street on the south bank, the occupier was Robert Gabriel; this building was perhaps already an inn, later the Castle Inn and the Six Bells.

KT343Inscribed l.r.: Oxford from Nuneham House and numbered 186, pen and grey ink and grey wash over pencil on laid paper, watermarked with the Strasburg lily15.7 x 45.4 cm; 6 1/8 x 17 7/8 inchesFramed in a gilt mouldingProvenance: Iolo Williams, by descent in his family until 1999; W/S Fine Art, 100 British Drawings and Watercolours, 2008, no. 78Exhibited: London, The Guildhall Art Gallery, Paul Sandby exhibition, 1960, no. 80The Earl of Harcourt was an important patron of the artist. Stiff Leadbetter, the architect, built his new villa outside Oxford near Abingdon from 1756-1760. The house was designed to be fire-proof as the family had lost one of its members in a house fire some years before.Sandby was employed at Nuneham as a drawing master to the three children of the Earl, and whilst staying there, he designed one of the fireplaces for the new house. He painted the house and park in oils twice, and one of these large works was exhibited at the first Society of Artists’ exhibition in 1760. The present drawing was developed into a finished watercolour (in a private collection) which was engraved by Michael Angelo Rooker for The Copperplate Magazine in 1778.

Inscribed l.r.: Ht. S., pen and grey ink and watercolour over pencilTop corners cut, 14.7 x 6.4 cm.; 5 5/8 x 2 ½ inchesProvenanceW/S Fine Art;Private collection, U.K. until 2019This charming drawing is typical of the intimate type of work which Sandby drew of his friends and family. His brother Thomas and his wife Elizabeth had seven children; around 1770 Thomas Sandby and his family took up residence in a former dairy in Windsor Great Park where Harriet grew up. In 1786 Paul Sandby's son Thomas Paul married his cousin Harriet, and the couple settled at the Deputy Ranger's Lodge, Windsor. A portrait of her wearing an elaborate hat by William Hamilton (1751-1801) is in the Royal Collection (RCIN 917845).