John Wilson Ewbank


1779 - 1847

Painter. Born in Gateshead (Northumberland), Ewbank moved to Edinburgh where he studied with Alexander Nasmyth (1758 - 1840). Noted as a painter of landscapes and seascapes, he was strongly influenced by 17th century Dutch artists, particularly Willem and Adriaen Van de Velde. Although his best work dates from his early years, Ewbank became a popular and wealthy art teacher in the capital. He was a founder member of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) in 1826. However, his wife left him and Ewbank degenerated into a hopeless alcoholic, such that he was stripped of his membership of the RSA in 1838.

Ewbank died poor and homeless.


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