FRANCIS TOWNE (MIDDLESEX 1739-1816 LONDON)

Although Towne is best known for his Devon views, he also made several visits to Cornwall, particularly to Werrington Park near Launceston. Towne's earliest recorded West Country picture was a view of the mill at Werrington, exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1767. The estate was sold to the Duke of Northumberland in 1775, and Towne visited again in 1796 and 1799.
The present drawing is unusual in Towne's oeuvre as a pure watercolour, with no pen outline. Dr Richard Stephens has suggested it dates to the late 1790s, when Towne experimented in pure watercolour, probably in response to the contemporary fashion to move away from more traditional 'tinted drawings', with their crisp pen outlines.
We are grateful to Timothy Wilcox and Dr Richard Stephens for their help in preparing this catalogue entry.