JOHN WARWICK SMITH (BRITISH 1749-1831)
Tregaron, on the Berwyn Rivulet near its junction with the Teivy River...
inscribed and dated Tregaron, on the Berwyn Rivulet near its junction with the Teivy River...The Roman Loventium not far hence, Cardiganshire, July 26th 1792.
watercolour
13 x 22 cm

PROVENCE: Anymous sale: Christie's, London, November 1977

John “Warwick” Smith was a British landscape watercolourist and illustrator. He was the son of a gardener to the Gilpin family, which assured him the opportunity to train under the animal painter Sawrey Gilpin. At the start of his career, he worked on Samuel Middiman’s Select Views in Great Britain and received the patronage of George Greville, 2^nd Earl of Warwick, which allowed him to travel to Italy where he met fellow British artists such as Francis Towne, known for his landscapes of Italy and the English Lake District. He was nicknamed the “Warwick” and “Italian” Smith due to his frequent travels to Italy and his connection with Lord Warwick, who bought a large collection of his artworks that was sold at auction in 1936. After 1781, he decided to move to Warwick while still travelling frequently to Wales and to the Lake District. After or during one of this travels, he probably painted the following Tregaron, on the Berwyn Rivulet near its junction with the Teivy River.... He later moved to London and started to exhibit at the Watercolour Society. His watercolours were particularly successful thanks to his fine brushwork and effective colouring.

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