Lot Essay
John Wilson Carmichael was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on January 8, 1800. He was the son of a ship's carpenter and was apprenticed to a ship builder. He may have gone to sea with the result being that soon thereafter ships became his primary interest.
Carmichael was a pupil of the landscape artist Thomas Miles Richardson, who was a friend and who occupied an adjoining studio in Newcastle. It has been suggested that they collaborated together on some of their works. Carmichael was considered superior to his local contemporaries who worked in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and, therefore, achieved great success. He was an excellent draughtsman, rendering his vessels with extreme fidelity
He had twenty-one exhibitions at the Royal Academy from 1835 to 1859 as well as at the British Institution from 1846-1862. In 1854 he was employed by the London Illustrated News as their artist in the field, covering the Crimean War. He also accompanied the Baltic fleet that summer and again in 1855. He also travelled and painted extensively in Europe.
The death of his son in 1862 affected him deeply and he never exhibited again. He retired in Scarborough a few years later and died there on May 2, 1868.
Carmichael was a pupil of the landscape artist Thomas Miles Richardson, who was a friend and who occupied an adjoining studio in Newcastle. It has been suggested that they collaborated together on some of their works. Carmichael was considered superior to his local contemporaries who worked in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and, therefore, achieved great success. He was an excellent draughtsman, rendering his vessels with extreme fidelity
He had twenty-one exhibitions at the Royal Academy from 1835 to 1859 as well as at the British Institution from 1846-1862. In 1854 he was employed by the London Illustrated News as their artist in the field, covering the Crimean War. He also accompanied the Baltic fleet that summer and again in 1855. He also travelled and painted extensively in Europe.
The death of his son in 1862 affected him deeply and he never exhibited again. He retired in Scarborough a few years later and died there on May 2, 1868.