John Clayton Adams or J. Clayton Adams (26 January 1840 – 20 June 1906) was an English

landscape artist Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

Life

Adams was born the second son of Mr. C.H. Adams in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Middlesex (now in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

), and studied art at the Bloomsbury School and later under William Wilthieu Fenn. He first exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, London, when he was 19, and, throughout the period 1863 to 1893, exhibited 75 pictures there, and 25 at the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

. In 1873 Adams moved to "Brackenhurst", Ewhurst Hill, near

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

. Most of his landscapes depict scenes from counties in

southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

, particularly

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. However, he also painted a few Scottish works featuring the

River Tweed The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the R ...

Work

Following the example of Benjamin Williams Leader, George Cole and his son George Vicat Cole, Adams produced pleasantly naturalistic landscapes, truthful in detail but in general idealised. His paintings are characterised by a broad technique, the use of rich colour and a sensitive handling of light. Harvest scenes were a favourite subject throughout his life and many of his exhibits at the

explore this theme. Most of his paintings are signed "J. Clayton Adams". Adam's paintings can be found in many art galleries in the UK including the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, Sheffield City Art Galleries,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, and many other regional centres.Wright, C & Gordon, M. G. & Smith, M. P. ''British and Irish paintings in public collections" (Yale University Press, 2006) p. 59.

Paintings (selected)

The Gravel Pit
(1872)

(1874)
The evening sun
(1878)
Flowers of the field
(1880) *After the shower (1886)
Evening reflection
(1887)
Returning from the Harvest
*A Surrey Lane (1890)

References

External links

(Sherwin Gallery) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, John Clayton 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters British landscape painters People from Edmonton, London 1840 births 1906 deaths 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists