Pen, ink and grey wash watercolour, dated Feb’y 12 1834
(inscribed verso)

19 x 16cm

John White Abbott was a doctor and apothecary, as well as an extremely talented amateur artist, who lived for most of his life in the country around Exeter in Devon.

He was a patron and sometime pupil of the important and distinctive watercolour artist, Francis Towne, whose style he initially copied. In 1825, he inherited an estate, ‘Fordland’, from his uncle James White, which enabled him to devote himself full-time to artistic pursuits and the life of a connoisseur. His work is widely admired and resides in many public collections, including the British Museum, the V&A and the Ashmolean.

Abbott was a keen student of Old Master drawings and the little watercolour we have for sale is a touching blend of Old Master imagery and Towne-like landscape.