An atmospheric seascape painting of Robin Hood’s Bay, Yorkshire by the Newcastle artist James Wilson Carmichael. A number of sailing boats and fishing vessels can be seen in choppy seas off a coast. To the left figures are shown walking down to the entrance of the bay towards other boats on the sands. Rising above the cliffs can be seen a number of houses extending along the coastline.

John Wilson Carmichael was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 9 June, 1799 to William and Mary Carmichael. He came from humble beginnings, with his father being a ship’s carpenter working in what was the third largest shipbuilding centre in England at the time. It was natural that Carmichael became involved in the industry in some form and from a young age went to sea for 3 years. On his return, he was apprenticed to the ship builders Messrs Farrington, producing designs and drawings for them. Encouraged by his employers, he taught himself to draw and paint during his spare time. When his apprenticeship finished, he began working as a drawing master and miniature painter and also took on a studio with Thomas Richardson Snr.

He married Mary Sweet on 20 March 1826 at Holy Cross Church, Ryton, near Durham. They lived at New Road in Newcastle where they started a family. From around 1828, he began exhibiting at the Northern Academy of Arts in Newcastle and earned a reputation for painting marine and historical sea subjects. His talent as well as his modest and unaffected manner helped win many patrons and he soon began receiving commissions for paintings including ‘The Bombardment of Algiers’ and ‘The Heroic Exploits of Admiral Lord Collingwood in HMS "Excellent" at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent’, painted in collaboration with George Balmer, for Trinity House in Newcastle.

In 1835, he made his debut at the Royal Academy in 1835 and continued to exhibit there regularly until 1859. In 1846, he began exhibiting at the British Institution. Later in the same year, he left Newcastle and relocated to London with his family, living at 20 Howland Street in St Pancras. Shortly before he moved, a presentation dinner was held in his honour in by his friends and patrons where he was awarded a silver plate tea service. He spent his time travelling around the country painting seascapes and coastal views. He also spent time in Scotland, Germany, Holland and the Baltic. As well as being an artist, he also produced two painting manuals commissioned by Winsor & Newton ‘The Art of Marine Painting in Water-Colours’ (1859) and ‘The Art of Marine Painting in Oil-Colours’ (1864).

From 1861, he lived at 13 St Marks Crescent in St Pancras. After the death of his son John William Carmichael in 1862, he moved to Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast. He remained in Scarborough until his death on 2 May, 1868. His works can be found in many public art collections including the Ashmolean Museum, Discovery Museum, Ferens Art Gallery, Government Art Collection, Guildhall Art Gallery, Hartlepool Museum, Laing Art Gallery, Leeds Art Gallery, National Trust, Nottingham City Museum, Poole Museum, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Shipley Art Gallery, Sunderland Museum and York Art Gallery.

© Benton Fine Art