Lot Essay
Born with deformed arms and fingers, it has been suggested that Vine painted with his feet, but contemporary drawings show him holding a picture in one hand and a pencil in the other. As a child he was exhibited at country fairs as a curiosity called 'Master Vine', but by 1830 he had married and settled in Colchester. His patrons included the Royal Agricultural Society , Lord Weston and Lord Foley.