John Varley, OWS, British 1778-1842- View on the Appian Way, Italy; pencil and watercolour heightened with white on paper, inscribed verso, 13.3 x 20 cm. Provenance: Anon. sale, Sotheby's, London, 24 September 1997, lot 430. Note: Varley was a prolific watercolourist and a close friend of William Blake (1757-1827). He was an influential figure in the development of watercolour painting in Britain, as one of the founders of the 'Old Watercolour Society' in 1805, and also instructed a number of significant watercolourists in the generation to follow, including John Linnell (1792-1882), David Cox (1783-1859), Copley Fielding (1787-1855), and William Turner of Oxford (1789-1862).

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