Francis Swaine

FRANCIS SWAINE

Circa 1715 - London - 1782

Francis Swaine painted general shipping scenes and naval actions. Nothing is known about his training; he is first recorded in 1735 as a messenger on a list of clerks and officers working for the Treasurer and Commissioners of His Majesty’s Navy.

Swaine was a contemporary of Charles Brooking (1723-1759), some of whose paintings he copied, and he was also influenced by Peter Monamy (1681-1749). On 29th June 1749, five months after Monamy’s death, Swaine married Monamy’s daughter Mary. Their second son Monamy Swaine (born circa 1751) also became a marine painter. Swaine exhibited at the Free Society from 1761-1782 and at the Society of Artists from 1762-1782; his work was also exhibited posthumously at both institutions, in 1783.

The work of Francis Swaine is represented in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute of Art, London and the Glasgow City Art Gallery.