John White Abbott (13 May 1763 – 1851) was an English surgeon and

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

in Exeter, remembered as a keen amateur painter in both

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

and oils. His watercolours are close in style to those of his teacher, Francis Towne.

Life

John White Abbott - An Italianate Landscape - Google Art Project

Abbott was born on 13 May 1763 at Cowick near Exeter, Devon. He came from a wealthy family, which owned many estates in Exeter, one of which he eventually inherited in 1825. By profession a surgeon and

, he was a keen amateur painter in both

and oils. He studied in Exeter with Francis Towne, to whom he was also a friend and patron, and his watercolour style was based on Towne's. His watercolours were generally landscapes, for which he toured to the Lake District, but in oil he also did history paintings. After inheriting an estate at the age of 62, he retired there, and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...

in 1831. Abbott exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1795 and 1805; he is last recorded exhibiting there in 1822. His oil paintings were once well known but the great bulk of his work was landscape watercolours. He had a series of etchings of his paintings created which was nearly complete at the time of his death. He made a sketching tour to Scotland and the Lake District in 1791. It seems that Abbott never sold any of his paintings, and most of his works were retained by his family until well into the 20th century. Despite this, in his lifetime he was better known than his teacher, Francis Towne, some of whose Italian views he copied.Wilton & Lyles, p. 312

Gallery

File:John White Abbott - Gowbarrow Park, Ullswater, Cumbria.Jpeg, Gowbarrow Park,

Ullswater Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being about long and wide, with a maximum depth a little over . It was scooped out by a glacier in the Last Ice Age. Geography It is a typical Lake District "ribbon lake", ...

, Cumbria, watercolour, 1791 File:RAMM Abbott - Near the Quay, Exeter.jpg, ''Near the Quay, Exeter'', watercolour, 1800s File:Macbeth recoiling from the apparition of the crowned child.jpg, ''Macbeth recoiling from the apparition of the crowned child'', oil, 1829 File:Prospero commanding Ariel.jpg, ''Prospero commanding Ariel'', oil, 1829 File:The remains of Exeter castle.jpg, ''The Remains of Exeter Castle'', pen and ink on paper, 1800s File:Entrance to the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace, Exeter behind the first house in Southernhay.jpg, ''Entrance to the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace, Exeter behind the first house in Southernhay'', pen and ink on paper, 1814

Notes

References

* Andrew Wilton & Anne Lyles, ''The Great Age of British Watercolours, 1750–1880'', 1993, Prestel, {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, John White 1763 births 1851 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Devon 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters English surgeons English watercolourists 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists