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 where he first studied art with his father, John Raphael Smith, a mezzotint engraver. Smith later studied art at the Royal Academy.
Around 1807, Smith emigrated from London to New York City. 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 was a moving panorama painter who worked with Richard Risley Carlisle.
Works
The juvenile drawing-book (1844)
Gallery
References
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)
External links John Rubens Smith, New York, N.Y. letter to Asher Brown Durand, 1826 May 25 (visited June 21, 2010)