JOHN 'WARWICK' SMITH, O.W.S. (CUMBERLAND 1749-1831 LONDON)

The present drawing is not dated, but other drawings by Smith of the cascade at Terni are dated 1789 (see British Museum, 1871,1111.4) and 1794 (see Christie's, London, 10 July 2014, lot 201). Smith had travelled to Italy in the employ of George Greville, second Earl of Warwick, in 1775, and worked alongside William Pars, Thomas Jones, and Francis Towne. He continued to produce watercolours of Italian subjects long after his return to England, and between 1792 and 1799 published Select Views in Italy, with Topographical and Historical Descriptions in English and French.
The Cascade delle Marmore, near Terni, became very popular with artists in the latter part of the 18th Century for its extraordinary power and beauty - it was also painted by Francis Towne, Carlo Labruzzi, Philipp Hackert and Thomas Patch. There are three other known versions of this subject by Smith, one horizontal in composition (British Museum, 1871,1111.4) which is used as plate 16 in the Select Views in Italy, and the others vertical (Sotheby's 9 November 1995, lot 44, and 21 March 2001, lot 117), with slightly shifting viewpoints.