John Rubens Smith

American artist (1775–1849)

John Rubens Smith
Self-portrait, c. 1817
Born	January 23, 1775 London, England
Died	August 21, 1849(1849-08-21) (aged 74) New York City, United States

John Rubens Smith (January 23, 1775 – August 21, 1849) was a London-born painter, printmaker and art instructor who worked in the United States.

Biography

Smith was born in London, England where he first studied art with his father, John Raphael Smith, a mezzotint engraver. Smith later studied art at the Royal Academy.

Smith emigrated to New York City from London about 1807. He depicted the United States in the decades before photography, and influenced a generation of American artists through his drawing academies and drawing manuals. He died in New York City.

His son John Rowson Smith (1810–1864) was a moving panorama painter who worked with Richard Risley Carlisle.

Works

The juvenile drawing-book (1844)

Gallery

Beacon Hill, Boston
Catskill Mountain-House
Officer from First Troop, Philadelphia

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Rubens Smith.

John Rubens Smith biography at the Library of Congress website (visited June 21, 2010)
John Rubens Smith Created Pictorial Record of Early America at the Library of Congress website (visited June 21, 2010)
Vital data at printsandprintmaking.gov.au (visited June 21, 2010)