Entrance to the Grotto of Posillipo, Naples. Artist: John "Warwick" Smith (British, Irthington, Cumberland 1749-1831 London). Dimensions: Sheet: 9 in. × 13 1/16 in. (22.9 × 33.2 cm). Date: 1778-9.This Roman tunnel cut through the rock near Naples provides access to coastal towns to the west and was a favorite subject for artists. Smith lived in Italy between 1776 and 1781, supported by George Greville, 2nd earl of Warwick, and worked closely with fellow Britons William Pars, Thomas Jones and Francis Towne to develop the expressive potential of watercolor. Of the group, Smith enjoyed the highest reputation as a colorist and here applied warm washes to delineate steep stone cliffs bordering the approach to the so-called Grotto, and deeper tones to describe indentations left by quarriers. He also describes a memorial plaque in the left foreground. A more developed version of the scene, formerly owned by the noted collector Paul Oppé, was engraved and published in Smith's "Select Views in