John 'Warwick' Smith (1749-1831)

The Island Of Elba, from the coast of Tuscany; and The village of Poggio

Details

John 'Warwick' Smith (1749-1831)
The Island Of Elba, from the coast of Tuscany; and The village of Poggio
one with inscription 'Numbered 15'; the other with inscription 'Numbered 16', and with further inscription 'General view of the island of Elba from the coast of Tuscany and dated 1814 on original mount' (on a typed label attached to the backboard)
pencil and watercolour, heightened with touches of white, one with scratching out
6 x 8.7/8 in. (15.7 x 22.6 cm.)
a pair (2)

Provenance

with Spink, London.

Sale room notice

The watercolour of Elba illustrated in the catalogue is after a drawing executed by Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bt., when he visited Elba on the extended tour that he took to distract himself from the death of his wife in 1789. When the allies took the decision to exile Napoleon to Elba in 1814, Hoare gave his drawings of Elba to his former teacher 'Warwick' Smith, who worked these up into finished watercolours, which he then had engraved and published in order to capitalize on the sudden newsworthiness of the little-known island.

The illustrated watercolour was engraved in the same direction, with minor differences of detail by Letitia Byrne, with a publication date of 24 June 1814, and used as the frontispiece to Hoare & Smith's A Tour through the Island of Elba. Colt Hoare's drawings of Elba are now in the Yale Center for British Art. The second watercolour in the lot, The Village of Poggio was not used in the publication.
Smith's first patron was Sir Henry Harpur of Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. We are grateful to Alistair Laing for providing this additional information.

Lot Essay

Lord Warwick met Smith in circa 1775 at Sir Harry Harper's in Derbyshire, where they were both guests. Warwick was a keen draughtsman and having studied Smith's drawings offered to become his patron.
Smith went to Italy under the patronage of Lord Warwick from 1776-1781. He was elected an associate of the Old Watercolour Society in 1805 and a full member in 1806. Smith travelled in Italy with Francis Towne in 1780 and they returned together via Switzerland. Towne's influence can be seen in Smith's strongly contrasted lights and shadows.

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