Sandby R.A., Paul (1731 – 1809) – A Scene on the Lane to a Castle Town, Shipping in the Estuary Beyond

A squire stops to talk to a man and woman resting by the side of a lane. He gestures to a picturesque castle ruin. His arm frames busy shipping in the estuary beyond and another traveller disappearing out of view as the lane drops downhill. A large Oak, boldy drawn, reached its branches across the picture, meeting a Birch and framing the composition in dramatic fashion. This fine example of Sandby's work, executed in gouache on a large scale giving it the impact of an oil painting, combines all the elements that made him so popular in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.