View of Tonbridge, with the bridge and houses, coal and pleasure boats in the foreground and the castle keep beyond

This early view of Tonbridge, Kent is painted on a grand-scale as it was exhibited, as with many other works by Sandby, at the Royal Academy, 1795. Sandby had by this time developed a distinctive style, demonstrated in Tonbridge. By using a mixture of both watercolour and bodycolour he produced bright and bold works that stood out on the walls of the Academy exhibitions.

Tonbridge illustrates Sandby at his best, with its harmonious colour scheme and fluent draughtsmanship punctuated by anecdotal detail, Sandby shows a real feeling and understanding of the English countryside. A drawing master at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Sandby achieved a level of consistent commercial success that was unrivalled by his contemporary landscape artists, including Thomas Gainsborough, R.A.