# Francis Swaine artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/francis-swaine/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T20:22:01.177Z
Quality: medium confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: English
- Common media: Painting, Marine painting

## About Francis Swaine

Francis Swaine was an English marine painter of the eighteenth century. Most authority records give his life dates as 1725–1782, although some institutional records place his birth around 1720 or in 1730. His established specialty was maritime painting: ships at anchor or under sail, naval engagements, estuaries, coastal waters, forts, and distant ports. Public collections indexed by Art UK include views of shipping off the Isle of Wight and Dover, English frigates in a calm, Fort William at Calcutta, and Fort St David at Madras. Other recorded subjects include the capture of the Foudroyant, the Battle of Quiberon Bay, and an observation of the Gordon Riots from Chelsea Waterworks. Collectors therefore encounter Swaine chiefly through paintings that combine carefully differentiated vessels with changing weather, coastal settings, or identifiable historical events. His documented institutional holdings and recurring auction appearances help distinguish this historical marine specialist from similarly named artists.

## Common works and media

Works associated with Francis Swaine are predominantly marine paintings. Recurring subjects include English frigates and sloops, merchant shipping, squadrons, vessels at anchor, ships in light winds or stormy seas, naval battles, estuaries, coastlines, and harbor or fort views. Institutional records also document historically specific scenes and locations in Britain and India. Attribution should be checked carefully because public authority records preserve several spelling variants of his name.

## Market and appraisal context

Francis Swaine's market is best assessed through closely comparable marine paintings rather than an artist-wide average. Relevant comparisons should align on medium, dimensions, date, subject, condition, and attribution. A named naval engagement, identifiable vessel, documented port, or historically specific scene may not be comparable to a generalized coastal view. Provenance, exhibition history, catalogue references, signatures, inscriptions, restoration, and surface quality also require examination. Public auction results can establish a useful range, but reporting may differ on buyer's premiums and fees, while private sales and incomplete feeds remain outside the visible record. Any appraisal should therefore reconcile the object itself with recent, genuinely similar public sales.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine researched identity and authority records with matched public auction data, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Public records are starting evidence and do not replace object-specific inspection, attribution, condition review, or a complete appraisal.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5482536
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500023243
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/95824481/
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/305308660/
- IdRef: https://www.idref.fr/170738795
- RKD: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/76170
- Art UK: https://artuk.org/discover/artists/swaine-francis-17301782
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/francis-swaine/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Swaine
- Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Swaine