Brief Biography-Francis Danby from Killinick, Wexford, left for Dublin during the 1798 Wexford Rising. He studied at the Royal Dublin Society art schools before visiting London with fellow artists James Arthur O’Connor and George Petrie in 1813. Danby married and settled in Bristol. He made a living selling his watercolours and eventually exhibited oils in London, which led to his admittance to the Royal Academy as an associate member.
After encountering financial difficulties, Danby travelled to London, where he stayed for five years. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in gaining full membership in the Academy, and his wife left him during the same period. Danby moved to Paris with his mistress and his children. He spent ten years on the continent, mainly in Geneva, leading a relatively meagre existence painting in watercolours.
When he returned to London in 1839, his work, the Deluge revitalised his career, which won him favour amongst critics; however, he achieved little acclaim after that. He lived in Devon for his last fifteen years in virtual poverty. J.M.W. Turner may have influenced him, and his works are comparable to John Martin's, also noted for his apocalyptic scenes. Both of his sons, James and Thomas, became artists.