Francis Swaine (1740-1782)

In 1735 Swaine is recorded as being a messenger in the Royal Navy, a position which must have given him the precise and detailed knowledge of shipping revealed in his pictures. His works also show the indirect influence of paintings by William van de Velde II. Although he was probably painting by the 1740s, Swaine did not begin to exhibit his works until 1761. After this date, he showed his pictures regularly at both the Free and Incorporated Societies of Artists.