Sir Watkins Williams-Wynn, a distant relative of Wilson through the artist's mother, Alice Wynne (of Leeswood), was one of the most significant Welsh art patrons of the period and the most important landowner in Denbighshire with 100,000 acres. He undertook the Grand Tour in 1768-69 at the age of 20, visiting France, Switzerland and Italy. In Rome he was painted by Batoni in a group with Thomas Apperley (1734-1819) and Captain Edward Hamilton (National Museum Wales, Cardiff (NMW A78)). On his return to Britain he commissioned Wilson to paint two large landscapes of his estates, to hang as a pair in his new residence at 20, St James's Square, London: P165 Dinas Bran from Llangollen I and P166 View near Wynnstay, the Seat of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, both Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Sir Watkin was the leading North Welsh magnate in the capital and a prominent figure in the Welsh cultural revival. Together with Paul Sandby, he made one of the earliest picturesque tours of North Wales and in 1775 was elected to the Society of Dilettanti.
For his early years see Hernon 2013
