DONNE, BENJAMIN (1831-1927)

"Italian Grotto" (1917)
watercolour & bodycolour
18 x 25cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Benjamin John Merifield Donne respected English Watercolourist. He was born in Clifton, Bristol, the son of an accountant. His father became embroiled in a riot at the Mansion House and was arrested, charged with stealing a brass weight from the King and imprisoned for a year. He was brought up in Crewkerne in Somerset, and in 1841 he was sent to school in Lyme. He married Jane nee Bradley (1832-1898) in 1854 and they had five children. He gave his occupation as 'Gentleman'. By the Census of 1861, they were living at Mill Mead, Axmouth, Devon with four servants and their children. Donne was a painter of landscapes, coastal and occasional classical subjects. Several exhibitions of his work, which is free and atmospheric, were held at the Dowdeswell Galleries. He exhibited several times at the Royal Academy, & Royal Institute Of Painters In Watercolour. His work is represented in several important galleries including the British Museum, Walker Art Gallery, The Alpine Art Collection & Exeter Museum.