SAMUEL HOWITT (LONDON 1755-1822)

Howitt is best known as a producer of sporting pictures and engravings, but he was the brother-in-law of Thomas Rowlandson, and also made drawings in a caricature style similar to Rowlandson's. He visited the Isle of Wight with Rowlandson in the 1790s, and it is possible that this drawing dates from that trip. The pub sign reads 'SAMSCOREUP', seemingly a pun on the artists name.
Roger Makins was a British Diplomat who was Ambassador to the United States (1953-6). As a collector he is best known for his Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art but he also put together a fine collection of Early British Drawings, the majority purchased from the prestigious London dealers Agnew’s and Spink.