A View of Shaugh and Dewerstone, Devonshire

A relatively obscure drawing teacher from Devon who received little recognition in his own day, Francis Towne's work was rediscovered in the early 20th century, when his stylized and decorative use of flat planes of watercolour enclosed within elegant outlines struck a chord with the modern sensibility. The present work consists of two leaves from the artist's sketchbook of a Devonshire tour made in the last year of his life. It shows the remarkable breadth of vision, bold simplification, and decorative treatment of natural forms that make Towne's work so distinctive within the English watercolour tradition.