John Warwick Smith 1749-1831

Sir Richard Sutton, d. 1855

Smith was sent to Italy by the Earl of Warwick in 1776 and he stayed there until 1781, passing through Switzerland in both directions.  It is likely that the present watercolour is a Swiss view and it relates closely to the watercolours Smith executed there.  It can be closely compared, for example, to Scheidegg near Grindelwald and Uber, Switzerland which was sold in these Rooms on 14th November 1996, lot 139.  Both watercolours are on similar sized sheets of paper and are stylistically very similar, demonstrating Smith's loose brushwork and his preference for muted tones of blue and green