John White Abbott

Trees

Dated l.r.: July 27. 1833, pen and grey ink and wash

35 x 23.5 cm

This is a charming example of White Abbott’s celebrated and ‘modern’ style of drawing, with its use of clear pen and ink outline and flat washes, derived from the style of his teacher Francis Towne. A Devonian with a particular love of trees, the artist exhibited from time to time in London as an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Arts, but he never sold any of his work.

This may well be a view of Fordland, the estate in Devon not far from Exeter which he inherited from his uncle James White, the lawyer and fellow pupil of Francis Towne, in 1825.

White Abbott’s work can be found in many public collections, including the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, the Ashmolean, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter and the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven.