The work of Francis Towne has only of recent years come to be appreciated as a watercolor artist. He belonged to a Devonshire family, but the exact place of his birth is not known. He became a friend of William Pars, A.R.A., from whom he received some instruction in drawing, and also went with him to Rome in 1780. Although he spent considerable time on the Continent, numerous drawings by him exist of scenes in his native country. On the Dart is a good example of his delicate method of painting. His special skill lay “in the management of even pen-line and in a subtle modulation of colour upon a flat surface.”
“ON THE DART”
BY FRANCIS TOWNE
(Size, 7 × 9¾ IN.)
(In the possession of A. E. Hutton, Esq.)
