View of Woolwich with St Mary's Church, London

Paul Sandby, R.A.
View of Woolwich with St Mary's Church, London

Signed lower right: P. Sandby
Pen and grey ink and watercolour over traces of pencil heightened with bodycolour on laid paper
45.5 by 61 cm., 17 ¾ by 24 in.

Provenance:
With the Fine Art Society, London, April 1960;
The Estate of Mary Sayles Booker Braga, New York

Exhibited:
London, Guildhall Art Gallery, Paul Sandby 1725-1809, 14th June to 16th July 1960, no.53

Sandby was appointed to the role of Chief Drawing Master at the Woolwich Academy in August 1768 on a salary of £150 a year. He remained on the staff until late 1796 teaching two days a week staying in the nearby village of Charlton. The Royal Military Academy was founded in 1741 and trained engineers and artillery officers enabling Sandby to popularise the art of watercolour painting and also to meet potential clients. He also took the opportunity to sketch in the surrounding area which was mostly rural at the time. Woolwich which stands on river Thames east of Greenwich was an important naval base as well as the home of the Royal Arsenal.