Details
JOHN WARWICK SMITH, O.W.S. (CUMBERLAND 1749-1831 LONDON)
Skiddaw from Lodore, Derwentwater, Cumberland
signed and dated 'J. Smith 1789' (lower right)
pencil and watercolour
1358 x 2014 in. (34.7 x 51.5 cm.)
Provenance
commissioned by John Christian Curwen, and by descent in the family to
Mrs Edward Curwen, 1988.
Roger Makins, 1st Baron Sherfield (1904-1996) and
by descent to the present owner.
Special notice
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
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Lot Essay

The present drawing is one of a series commissioned by John Christian Curwen (1756-1828), M.P. for Carlisle. He lived at Workington Hall, on the coast some twenty miles from Skiddaw, and at Belle Isle House, Belle Isle, Windermere, which had been passed down in his wife's family. He commissioned a series of Lake District views from Smith - one, Lake Windermere from Calgarth with Belle Isle, is now at Yale Center for British Art. Skiddaw, just north of Keswick, is the sixth highest peak in England, and an instantly recognisable landmark in the area.
Roger Makins was a British Diplomat who was Ambassador to the United States (1953-6). As a collector he is best known for his Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art but he also put together a fine collection of Early British Drawings, the majority purchased from the prestigious London dealers Agnew’s and Spink.

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