Collection Details
Sandby family (see below); sale at Christie’s, 27 October 1961, lot 14: bt by Sabin Galleries; again with Sabin, 1971, from whom bought by the Faringdon Trustees the same year.

Background
The vendor in 1961 was described as a ‘Descendant of the Sandby family’.  Lot 14 was catalogued as a parcel of drawings by Lt Paul Sandby (presumably Thomas Paul, son of Paul Sandby), and it comprised ‘unframed miscellaneous drawings, prints and watercolours by members of the Sandby family in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries’.

The attribution of the present drawing to Paul Sandby seems acceptable.  While it is not characteristic of his work in general, analogies can be found in, for example, the backgrounds of some of his gouaches.  The scene suggests Italy, but Sandby never left England.  Possibly it is a view in Wales, where he paid several visits after 1770.
 

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