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#3 - Wood’s Italian Scenery

Kling, Len

Very little is known today about the life of early 19th century artist Elizabeth Frances Batty. She was the sister of Captain Robert Batty, a member of the Grenadier Guards whose military career was ended by wounds received at the Battle of Waterloo, and who was also an artist. Although like her brother Elizabeth was a member of the Royal Academy, she was not as prolific, her own career doubtlessly curtailed by marriage (to Philip Martineau) and motherhood. Robert's drawings were the basis for a number of illustrated travel books, French Scenery, German Scenery, Welsh Scenery, and others; published in the 1820s and 1830s; however Elizabeth's principal claim to fame came first, and it could be reasonably assumed that his similarly named works were an effort by his publishers to continue her success.

woodsitalianscenery-reduced.pdf1.14 MB