Lot 192: William Pars, A.R.A. , 1742-1782 The Great Villa at Quintili, Italy pen and brown ink with watercolour over pencil on laid paper

pen and brown ink with watercolour over pencil on laid paper

20.7 by 28.2 cm.; 8 1/4 by 11 1/8 in.

In 1775 the Dilettanti Society awarded William Pars a bursary of £60 a year to pursue his studies in Italy. He travelled to Italy with the estranged wife of the miniaturist John Smart (see lot 151) and whilst there he visited Florence, Naples and Rome. In 1782, at the age of 40, Pars died at Rome: 'as a result of a chill caught while sketching' (Huon Mallalieu, The Dictionary of British Watercolour Artists up to 1920, 1976, p. 92).