Francis Danby - The Avon and Bristol Channel from Durdham Down c.1822. Francis lived in the years 1793 to 1861. This painting is featured on a postcard from the Penarth Dock Collection [001] and is attributed to Bristol Museums and Art Gallery. [161] Bristol and the river Avon are close neighbours to South Wales and its shipping industry being only 8 or 9 miles distant from Penarth Head across the Seven Sea.

The National Gallery [515] provides some interesting information on the artist's life : -

'Francis Danby was born in Ireland and studied painting at the Dublin Society. In 1819 he met the Reverend John Eagles, author of 'The Sketcher', who encouraged him to seek inspiration for his paintings in the local scenery. By the 1820s, however, Danby abandoned naturalism in favour of poetic and heroic landscapes inspired by Claude and Turner. In 1847 he retired to Exmouth in Devon, where he worked as a boat-builder while continuing to paint.'