an English portrait painter, particularly known for the type of portrait now called a conversation piece. Devis received his greatest number of commissions for portraits between 1748 and 1758. Many of the pictures show the sitters in landscapes. Although portrayed with what seems like precise topographical detail, these views, like all but one of the interiors, were mostly invented by Devis. The exception is the neo-Gothic library at Arbury Hall shown in Devis's portrait of Sir Roger Newdigate, who holds the plan for the room on his knee.
