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Varley, John, 1778-1842 Fishing Smacks off the coast at Bamburgh watercolor over pencil 6-5/8 X 8-1/2 inches signed

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John Varley
1778-1842

Drawing master and astrologer, Varley (in the words of Randall Davies) did for watercolor "what St. Paul did for Christianity." Essentially self-taught, he first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1798. In 1804 Varley became a founding member of the Society of Painters in Watercolors, by which time he was already recognized as a successful drawing master. During his career he had perhaps more successful professional pupils than any other artist.