Thomas Rowlandson View of Glastonbury town and abbey

Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827)Soldiers on parade, FrancePen and grey ink and watercolour over traces of pencil, inscribed: Depot de Gardes Françoise14.4 x 23.4 cm.; 5 33/4 x 9 ¼ inchesProvenanceRichard Green LtdRowlandson frequently painted military subjects and here he draws English soldiers standing to attention while passers-by walk past unperturbed carrying on their daily activities. The dépôt de Gardes françaises was the Parisian barracks for the elite regiment of troops which protected the French Royal family and was disbanded in 1789 when the soldiers joined the Revolutionary troops.

Inscribed l.l.: TRENANT SIR E. BULLERS., pen and grey ink and watercolour over traces of pencil14 x 23.3 cm; 5 ½ x 9 1/8 inchesProvenanceJ.A.D. Bridger, his sale at Sotheby’s London, 24 January 1951, lot 150; bought by Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd.; H.M. Langton; Spink & Son Ltd., K3/1993;Exhibited Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd., 80th Annual Exhibition of Water-colour Drawings (January – March 1953), no. 85Rowlandson worked extensively in the West Country early in his career and made annual tours. He usually stayed with his friend and patron Matthew Michell, a banker, who had an estate at Hengar near Bodmin in Cornwall.Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet (24 December 1764 – 15 April 1824) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was MP for East Looe in Cornwall from 1802-1820. He lived at Trenant Park in East Cornwall.

Pen and grey ink and watercolour over pencil11 x 17.2 cm.; 4 ¼ x 6 ¾ inchesProvenance: Sotheby’s, London, 29 October 1964, lot 248; Ann Spokes Symonds, OxfordAnn Symonds worked for the Fine Art Society in 1960s.

Pen and brown and grey ink and watercolour over traces of pencil, bears inscription and date22 x 36 cm.’ 8 ½ x 14 1/8 inchesProvenanceMaurice Dear, Southampton;Private collection, U.K., until 2025Rowlandson drew boating scenes such as this one on many occasions, this work probably dates from c. 1810-1820. The river is teeming with a variety of craft and passengers and the nearby pub doing a roaring trade.

Two, each signed l.l.and l.r., each inscribed l.c.: F. Concolr./life and F. Ocelot.of.Albany./Life, watercolour over pencilEach approx. 25 x 17.5 cm.; 9 ¾ x 6 7/8 inchesThe artist was self-taught and specialised in drawings of animals and field sports.From a wealthy Quaker family, Howitt took up art professionally when he encountered financial difficulties and became a drawing master in Ealing.He married Thomas Rowlandson's sister Elizabeth in 1779 and was part of Rowlandson's circle together with George Morland, Henry Wigstead and J.R. Smith.

Signed with initials l.r.: HBB, watercolour and bodycolour over pencil, inscribed verso: Siracuse and stamped with collector’s markProvenanceGilbert Davis (L. 757a.);Edward Seago, his estate sale at Christie’s, London 1 March 1977, lot 94;Where bought by B.M. Williams;Christie’s, London, 21 November 2007, lot 145, where acquired by the previous owner until 2025 Gilbert Davis (1899–1983) built up a large collection of watercolours in the middle of the twentieth century. He sold the bulk of his collection in 1959 to the Huntingdon Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. Edward Seago RBA, RWS (1910-1974) was one of the most popular British artists of 20th century, who painted in oils and watercolours.

Watercolour over traces of pencil on Creswick paper31 x 48.3 cm.; 12 ¼ x 19 inchesProvenanceChristie’s, London, the Artist’s sale, 27 May 1850, lot 378;Christie's London, April 25, 1995, 116;Bill Thomson, Albany Gallery until 2021De Wint first visited Shropshire in 1829-1830 and exhibited a number of Shropshire views throughout his career. He had two major patrons there, Lord Clive at Oakley Park near Ludlow, not far from the Clee Hills, and Edward Cheney of Badger Hall.

Pencil9 x 15 cm.; 3 ½ x 6 inchesProvenanceThe artist's studio sale, Christie's, 8 - 15 May 1874, bt. by Thomas Agnew & Sons Ltd. (23366);J.M.M., a Christmas present from C. 1962

Signed l.c.: E. Lear, pencil with watercolour, pen and black ink and touches of gold17.7 x 23 cm.; 7 x 9 inchesThese charming, quirky drawings are characteristic early works by Lear, dating from the late 1820s or early 1830s when he was establishing himself as an ornithological artist. They relate to a group of drawings which Lear gave to Mrs Godfrey Wentworth, who supported his employment by the Zoological Society in 1831, and whom he credited with launching him as an artist. They are imaginary, fanciful subjects drawn with not a little humour, resembling the stylised watercolours of birds painted on late eighteenth century porcelain. Robert McCracken Peck has made the interesting suggestion that Lear and his sister Ann may have been thinking of approaching ceramics companies with them (see Robert McCracken Peck, The Natural History of Edward Lear, 2016, pp. 27-9).Two surviving family albums from the late 1820s, containing a mixture of similar natural history subjects by Edward Lear and his sisters Ann and Sarah, are in the collection of the Houghton Library, Harvard University (MS Typ 55.4 and 55.27).Sir Edward Strachey was a man of letters and friend of Lear’s, who wrote an introduction to Nonsense Songs in 1895. He lived at Sutton Court, Chew Magna in Somerset and was a neighbour of Lear’s close friend Chichester Fortescue, the Liberal politician whom Lear first met in Rome in 1845.

Signed and dated l.r.: W. Callow.1833, watercolour over traces of pencil with scratching outProvenancePrivate collection U.K. until 2026This fine example of Callow’s work dates from the time he was sharing a studio in Paris with Thomas Shotter Boys at 19 Rue de Bouloi near the Louvre. He visited England during the summer and presumably travelled through Dover.