John William Hurrell Watts was born in

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on September 16, 1850. He emigrated to Canada in 1873. He was the first curator of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

.Collins, John B., "John William Hurrell Watts" Canadian Dictionary of National Biography. vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed October 16, 2017. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/watts_john_william_hurrell_14E.html As an architect, he also designed

Fleck/Paterson House Fleck/Paterson House is a historic building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Built in 1903 as a private residence, it has since served a number of functions, and currently serves as the Algerian Embassy to Canada. History The house was built between ...

, St Augustine's and Booth House. He was a founding member of the

Ontario Association of Architects The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) is the regulatory body responsible for registering and licensing all architects legally entitled to practice the scope of architecture in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1889. Notable ...

. Four small etchings by Watts were featured in the first Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) exhibition in March 1880. He was part of the Etching Revival Movement, which was virtually unknown in Canada, and was perhaps the first practising etcher to display his work in Canada. He taught the technique to artists

William Brymner William Brymner, (December 14, 1855 – June 18, 1925) was a Canadian figure and landscape painter and educator. In addition to playing a key role in the development of Impressionism in Canada, Brymner taught numerous artists who became leadin ...

and Ernest Fosbery. Watts worked across disciplines as an artist and a curator. An important figure in the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

arts community, he served as the first curator of the National Gallery of Canada. Watts also directed the RCA Diploma Program, which included acquisitions for the Academy's collection as well as exhibition design between 1882 and 1897. As a creative, Watts was not limited to etching and took up watercolor, oil painting, and even architecture, designing a number of homes in the capital region. After his death in 1917, Watts gifted his etching press and tools to Fosbery, who became a celebrated etcher and teacher in his own right.

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John William Hurrell Watts fonds
at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario 1850 births 1917 deaths People from Teignmouth Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts {{Canada-architect-stub