English painter, part of a family of painters, half-brother of Arthur Devis. He was working in London from 1742 as a specialist in topographical paintings, which he produced in both oils and watercolours. He exhibited at the Free Society (1761 and 1763) and at the Royal Academy (1772 and 1781). In 1780 he moved to Surrey, where he was later to paint a view in oils of his home, Albury House, Surrey (1792; Preston, Harris Museum, Preston). He travelled throughout Britain in search of suitable subjects and commissions, both landscapes and country houses, such as the view of the lake, temple and house painted for the owners of Upton House, Warwicks (1803; in situ). //