The landscape painter and watercolourist Paul Sandby was one of Wilson's greatest supporters and admirers, having met him in London on Wilson's return from Italy about 1757. An avid collector of works on paper by contemporary artists and old masters, he bought numerous Wilson drawings, many of which featured in his posthumous sales at Christie's, 2-4 May 1811, 17-18 March 1812 and 16-18 April 1817. Sandby himself made three trips to Wales in the footsteps of Wilson, visiting North Wales in 1770 and 1771 and South Wales from 21 August to 4 September 1771, though he never visited Italy. He toured North Wales in the company of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, collecting material for his second Welsh aquatint series, XII Views in North Wales, finally published in 1776. In 1783 he published A Collection of One Hundred & Fifty Select Views in England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland. This contributed greatly to popularising the Welsh landscape during the 1770s and 1780s. His portrait by Francis Cotes (1761) is in Tate, London (N01943).
Collector's mark: Lugt 2112
