Anthony Devis 1729-1817. British School 18th.Century. Pen ink and watercolour drawing on wove paper Circa.1790. A shepherd and his flock in a country landscape inscribed to the reverse 'above Law brook' 20.5 by 14 cms to mounted image. Slight creasing upper left to no real detriment. Law Brook is a small stream (also known as Postford Brook) within the Surrey Hills National Landscape, near Albury and Guildford. Provenance: Iolo Williams, bought from FR Metyard Oct 1955 £2.
Anthony Devis was a painter and draughtsman of charming landscapes inspired by Dutch and Italianate models. Predominantly studies in pen and ink enlivened with touches of colour.
Devis was born in Preston, Lancashire on 18 March 1729, to the councillor, Anthony Devis, and his second wife Anne. The portrait painter, Arthur Devis, was his older half-brother. Devis was certainly working as a painter in London by 1742, when he was still only thirteen. Returning for a time to Preston, he was back in London by 1762, and living in Gloucester Street with his brother John, a silversmith and watchmaker;
a decade later he had moved to Bedford Row. He specialised in topographical paintings, which he produced in both oil and watercolour, and exhibited – most notably – at the Free Society of Artists (1761 and 1763) and the Royal Academy of Arts (1772 and
1781). A Cool Morning, exhibited at the Free Society in 1763, was awarded ‘The Third Premium for Landscape Painting’.
Devis was born in Preston, Lancashire on 18 March 1729, to the councillor, Anthony Devis, and his second wife Anne. The portrait painter, Arthur Devis, was his older half-brother. Devis was certainly working as a painter in London by 1742, when he was still only thirteen. Returning for a time to Preston, he was back in London by 1762, and living in Gloucester Street with his brother John, a silversmith and watchmaker;
a decade later he had moved to Bedford Row. He specialised in topographical paintings, which he produced in both oil and watercolour, and exhibited – most notably – at the Free Society of Artists (1761 and 1763) and the Royal Academy of Arts (1772 and
1781). A Cool Morning, exhibited at the Free Society in 1763, was awarded ‘The Third Premium for Landscape Painting’.
GB