Life

Newton was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the twelfth child and youngest son of Henry Newton, a customs official, and Ann, his wife, daughter of Gilbert Stuart, snuff manufacturer at Boston, Massachusetts, of Scottish descent, and sister to Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Stuart

Gilbert Charles Stuart was an American painter from Rhode Island.Gilbert Stuart is widely considered to be one of America's foremost portraitists...

 the portrait painter. His parents left Boston in 1776 as the British withdrew; but on the death of his father in 1803 his mother returned with her family to Charleston, near Boston.

Newton was intended for a commercial career, but was taken on as a pupil by his uncle, Gilbert Stuart. Newton came to Europe with an elder brother, and studied painting at Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

. In 1817 he visited Paris on his way to England and there met Charles Robert Leslie

Charles Robert Leslie

]Charles Robert Leslie , was an English genre painter. Born in London, his parents were American, and when he was five years of age he returned with them to their native country. They settled in Philadelphia, where their son was educated and afterwards apprenticed to a bookseller...

, as well as Washington Allston

Washington Allston

Washington Allston was an American painter and poet, born in Waccamaw Parish, South Carolina. Allston pioneered America's Romantic movement of landscape painting...

 and David Wilkie

David Wilkie (artist)

Sir David Wilkie was a Scottish painter.- Early life :Wilkie was the son of the parish minister of Cults in Fife. He developed a love for art at an early age. In 1799, after he had attended school at Pitlessie, Kettle and Cupar, his father reluctantly agreed to his becoming a painter...

. After visiting the Netherlands Newton went with Leslie to London, and entered as a student at the Royal Academy

Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...

.

He revisited America for a short time and there married, returning to England with his wife. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1829 and an academician in 1832. Soon after his election to the Academy he started suffering from mental illness

Mental illness

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...

, and was placed in an asylum at Chelsea

Chelsea, London

Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...

. He continued to paint there, where he died suffering from consumption

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

, at Chelsea on 5 August 1835. He was buried in Wimbledon

Wimbledon, London

Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

 churchyard. His wife had returned to America with her child a few months before, and subsequently remarried.

Works

He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1818, sending portraits in that and the five following years, including one of Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...

, with whom he had become acquainted through Leslie. In 1823 he exhibited at the royal academy 'Don Quixote in his Study,' the first of the subject-pictures drawn from poetry or romance with which his name was subsequently identified. It was followed by 'M. de Pourceaugnac, or the Patient in Spite of Himself (1824), 'The Dull Lecture ' (1825), and 'Captain Macheath upbraided by Polly and Lucy' (1826); this last picture was purchased by the Marquis of Lansdowne, who also collected at Bowood 'The Vicar of Wakefield reconciling his Wife to Olivia' (1828) and 'Polly Peachum.' Two pictures, 'The Forsaken' and ' The Lover's Quarrel,' were engraved in The Literary Souvenir for 1826, with verses by Miss L. E. Landon; the latter was in the Dover House collection, and, with 'The Adieu' and another picture by Newton, was sold at Christie's

Christie's

Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...

 on 6 May 1893. 'The Prince of Spain's Visit to Catalina' (1827) was purchased by the Duke of Bedford

Duke of Bedford

thumb|right|240px|William Russell, 1st Duke of BedfordDuke of Bedford is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time...

 and engraved in 'The Literary Souvenir' for 1831.

Two pictures by Newton, 'Yorick and the Grisette ' (1830) and 'The Window or the Dutch Girl' (1829), were purchased by Mr. Vernon and passed with his collection to the National Gallery

National gallery

The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra...

; a third, 'Portia and Bassanio' (1831), forms part of the Sheepshanks collection in the South Kensington Museum. Newton painted numerous other pictures, which found immediate purchasers, and were nearly all engraved. Among them were: 'Lear, Cordelia, and the Physician' (Lord Ashburton), 'Abbot Boniface' (Earl of Essex), 'The Duenna' (royal collection), and 'The Importunate Author.' He painted several portraits, including those of Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...

, Sir Walter Scott, and Lady Theresa Lister. In 1842 a collection of engravings from his pictures was published with notices by Henry Murray, F.S.A., entitled 'The Gems of Stuart Newton, R.A.'

External links

• http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/newton_gilbert_stuart.html

Attribution