.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Paul Sandby (1731-1809) was a British artist and engraver. Born in Nottingham to Thomas Sandby (1686-1742), a framework knitter and his wife, Ruth Ash (1686-1766), little is known of Sandby's early life before 1747, when he was appointed draughtsman to the Board of Ordinance and worked on the survey of Scotland, drawing maps as well as figures and landscapes. After moving to London in 1751, spending the summer with his brother Thomas at Windsor, Paul collaborated with his brother on engraved views of Windsor Great Park, published in 1754 and in 1772. In the 1760s Paul created some of his most accomplished drawings in a series of views of Windsor Castle and its surrounding area, some of which are now in the British Royal Collection. In 1768Sandby was appointed chief drawing master at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, at a salary of £150 per annum, a post he retained until his retirement in 1796. In the 1770s he toured Wales and produced an album of Welsh views in aquatint in 1775. As well as watercolours, Sandby is known for his satirical engravings and oils. In 1757, Sandby married Anne Stogden (d. 1797), with whom he had two sons and a daughter, including Thomas Paul (d. 1832), who also became an artist and succeeded his father as drawing master at Woolwich.
Paul Sandby and the seascape artist Dominic Serres (1719-1793) were both foundation members of the Royal Academy in 1768 and from 1780 lived as neighbours in St George's Row, London. Philip Jean painted the twoartists in comparable poses alluding to their specialised fields; the present lot shows Sandby with a sketchbook in the grounds of Windsor Great Park with a view of the castle beyond, whereas Serres is seated before an easel with a painting of a ship, with pallette and brush in his hands. The latter is now in the National Portrait Gallery, London (inv. no. 1909, see J. Ingamells, op. cit., illustrated in colour p. 421). Both miniatures measure 4.1/8 in. (105 mm.) high and were exhibited as a pair at the Royal Academy in 1788 (no. 315).
A slightly smaller and modified version of the present miniature was engraved by Joseph Thomson in 1796 and a print is in the Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (E1977.14.12582).
Paul Sandby and the seascape artist Dominic Serres (1719-1793) were both foundation members of the Royal Academy in 1768 and from 1780 lived as neighbours in St George's Row, London. Philip Jean painted the twoartists in comparable poses alluding to their specialised fields; the present lot shows Sandby with a sketchbook in the grounds of Windsor Great Park with a view of the castle beyond, whereas Serres is seated before an easel with a painting of a ship, with pallette and brush in his hands. The latter is now in the National Portrait Gallery, London (inv. no. 1909, see J. Ingamells, op. cit., illustrated in colour p. 421). Both miniatures measure 4.1/8 in. (105 mm.) high and were exhibited as a pair at the Royal Academy in 1788 (no. 315).
A slightly smaller and modified version of the present miniature was engraved by Joseph Thomson in 1796 and a print is in the Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (E1977.14.12582).