Francis Swaine painted general shipping scenes and naval actions. Nothing is known about his training; he is first recorded in 1735 as a messenger on a list of clerks and officers working for the Treasurer and Commissioners of His Majesty’s Navy.

He was a contemporary of Charles Brooking, some of whose paintings he copied, and he was also influenced by Peter Monamy. Five months after monany died, Swaine married Monamy’s eldest daughter Mary, and later christened his son Monamy Swaine.

The work of Swaine is represented in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Glaswgow Art Gallery.

A Squadron of the Red of the Northern Foreland of the  South Coast