John Rubens Smith

John Rubens Smith ( born January 23, 1775 in London, † August 21 1849 in New York City ) was a British-American painter, printmaker and art teacher.

Life

Smith, whose father John Raphael Smith was a mezzotint engraver, studied art at the Royal Academy. In 1807 he emigrated to New York. Through his drawing style, his teachings into character academies and manuals he influenced a whole generation of American artists. His son John Rowson Smith (1810-1864) was a panorama painter.

Work

In his work Juvenile Drawing Book 55 lithographs are to be seen without text. It was published in 1822 by John Rubens Smith and sold by J. McCormick and Davis & Horn. There were three editions.