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Lot Essay
Denton Lodge, South Norfolk, was the home of the artist's cousin and Chancellor of Norwich, Dr George Sandby (1717-1807), and these drawings have descended in the family to the present owner, never before appearing on the market. Dr George Sandby lived at Denton Lodge, rather than Denton Rectory, perhaps reflecting his elevation from clergyman to Chancellor of Norwich. Denton Lodge, still extant, is a late 18th Century colourwashed brick and flint two storey house with a slate and tile roof, probably built by Dr Sandby.
Whilst it seems likely that Paul Sandby was a fairly regular visitor to Denton, only a handful of watercolours outside the present group survive. A watercolour of Denton Rectory Barn is at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (WA1887.2), as was an oil of the same subject, destroyed in 1965. Oils are highly unusual in Sandby’s oeuvre, and tend to be later works, suggesting that the Ashmolean works probably date to a similar period to the present works, which were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1799.
Two further sheets, one in the Royal Collection (RCIN 914395), and one at the Yale Center for British Art (B1975.4.715), depict Dr Sandby’s young daughters at play. These are much smaller and more informal than the present group of drawings, suggesting a close familiarity between the cousins.
Sandby began his career as draughtsman to the Ordnance Survey of Scotland in September 1747, making topographical studies of the Scottish landscape as well as drawing maps. He returned to London in 1751, where his brother Thomas was employed as a draughtsman by the Duke of Cumberland, Ranger of Windsor Great Park. Windsor became a favourite subject, which he returned to time and again in a variety of guises, from depictions of the North Terrace of the Castle, to views of life outside the walls.
During the 1760s and 1770s he produced sets of watercolours of great country houses and estates, such as those of Luton Park, Bedfordshire (sold in these Rooms, 3 July 1996), earning him the description ‘the father of English watercolour). These later drawings of Denton perhaps seek to portray his cousin’s house as of the similar importance to such estates.
Whilst it seems likely that Paul Sandby was a fairly regular visitor to Denton, only a handful of watercolours outside the present group survive. A watercolour of Denton Rectory Barn is at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (WA1887.2), as was an oil of the same subject, destroyed in 1965. Oils are highly unusual in Sandby’s oeuvre, and tend to be later works, suggesting that the Ashmolean works probably date to a similar period to the present works, which were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1799.
Two further sheets, one in the Royal Collection (RCIN 914395), and one at the Yale Center for British Art (B1975.4.715), depict Dr Sandby’s young daughters at play. These are much smaller and more informal than the present group of drawings, suggesting a close familiarity between the cousins.
Sandby began his career as draughtsman to the Ordnance Survey of Scotland in September 1747, making topographical studies of the Scottish landscape as well as drawing maps. He returned to London in 1751, where his brother Thomas was employed as a draughtsman by the Duke of Cumberland, Ranger of Windsor Great Park. Windsor became a favourite subject, which he returned to time and again in a variety of guises, from depictions of the North Terrace of the Castle, to views of life outside the walls.
During the 1760s and 1770s he produced sets of watercolours of great country houses and estates, such as those of Luton Park, Bedfordshire (sold in these Rooms, 3 July 1996), earning him the description ‘the father of English watercolour). These later drawings of Denton perhaps seek to portray his cousin’s house as of the similar importance to such estates.