Francis Oliver Finch

Francis Oliver Finch (1802–1862), was an English watercolour painter, and a member of The Ancients, the group of young artists formed around Samuel Palmer and the elderly William Blake in the 1820s.

At the age of twelve, by then fatherless, he was placed under John Varley, with whom he worked for five years, a friend having paid a premium of £200.

Among his earliest patrons was Lord Northwick, who employed Finch in making views of his mansion and grounds.

Some time after leaving his master's studio the same friend who had assisted in placing him there afforded him the benefit of a tour through Scotland.

He joined Sass's life academy and produced several portraits, but circumstances drawing him back to landscape-painting he became a candidate for admission to the newly formed Society of Painters in Water Colours.