Paul Sandby
English
A Paul Sandby was a notable English painter, draftsman and engraver whose work helped define the early British watercolor tradition. Born in Nottingham and likely trained alongside his elder brother Thomas, Sandby entered national artistic circles after the Jacobite Rebellion, when he was employed to map and depict the Scottish Highlands for military use. The assignment sharpened his landscape and figure drawing skills and led to his later reputation as a master of topographical views. Sandby became a key innovator in aquatint, popularizing the technique for expressive landscape printmaking. He travelled widely across Britain, producing influential Welsh series such as Twelve Views in Aquatina from Drawings taken on the Spot in South-Wales (1775) and Twelve Views in North Wales (1776). Celebrated for the clarity and honesty of his watercolor landscapes, he is often regarded as the father of British watercolor. - AsNotedIn