Samuel Prout (1783-1852), Watercolour painter

Sitter in 3 portraits
As a young man, Prout tried to earn a living as an illustrator and accompanied the historical painter B. R. Haydon on a tour of Devon. He produced some good work but his drawings were not of a consistently high standard for publisher John Britton to use. Prout moved to London in 1812. While trying to improve his style by studying the great landscape artists, he dabbled in the newly invented art of lithography and earned a living painting marine pieces and teaching. In 1819, he became a member of the Old Watercolour Society and took his first overseas trip. It was in France that he first found his niche, painting gothic buildings with great precision in a natural but picturesque style.