(1725 - 1782)
Little is known of the early life Francis Swaine, marine painter. In 1735, his name appeared as a messenger in a list of clerks and officers employed by the Treasurers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy. Swaine's work was strongly influenced by Peter Monamy, Charles Brooking and the earlier paintings of Willem van de Velde the younger. Most of Swaine’s output was small scale shipping subjects. He exhibited his work at the Free Society of Arts from 1761 until the end of his life and at the Incorporated Society of Artists exhibitions from 1762. For much of his life, Swaine lived near St. James’s Park, Westminster. He moved to Chelsea shortly before his death in 1782.
