John White Abbott (1763-1851) was an apothecary and surgeon in Exeter, but is best remembered today as a talented amateur painter and watercolourist. He studied with Francis Towne and Abbott’s watercolour style, with its pale, luminous washes and distinct outlines, displays Towne’s influence, which was considered out of step with the prevailing aesthetic at the time but which is much admired today for its surprising modernity. Abbott primarily worked as a landscapist. He made a single tour of the Lake District, Derbyshire and Lancashire in 1791 but otherwise devoted much of his time to studying the scenery in the environs of Exeter, and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1793-1805. Although he is not known to have sold any works himself and never gave up his original profession, he was, ironically, better known than Towne during his own lifetime.

This beautiful large-scale watercolour depicts a view similar to that in a slightly later oil, The Old Lime Kilns near Topham on the Exe (1808, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, inv. no. 77/1937/1). Its portrait format is unusual for a landscape and its scale and high degree of finish suggest that Abbott made it with a view to exhibiting it. The trees, with their twisted trunks and lush crowns of foliage, are drawn with his customary delicacy and precision and the group of figures in the foreground rendered in great detail.

given by the artist to his son, Francis Abbott (1801-1893), 1 March 1832; by descent in the family of the artist until sold at Sotheby's (London), 11th November 1993, lot 86; purchased there by Brian Harding, Stratford-upon-Avon; sold on his behalf by Guy Peppiatt Fine Art (London); purchased there by the Spooner Charitable Trust 2018; gift of the Spooner Charitable Trust to the Samuel Courtauld Trust, 2018

John White Abbott, Bristol City Art Gallery, 1946

Watermark: Watermark: unable to check due to mount, none evident in raking light.

Inscription: Mount (historic), Verso: centre, graphite: “08931 B”. Verso of original washline mount (now missing, information supplied by Guy Peppiatt): “Given to Francis Abbott / March 1, 1832”.

Collector's mark: none.