1000 Museums

Peter de Wint was a successful English watercolor painter in the early nineteenth century. He moved to London in 1802 and soon got an apprenticeship under John Raphael Smith, a local engraver and portrait painter. In an attempt to buy his freedom, de Wint promised eighteen oil paintings to Smith over the following two years. A year later, he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy and moved into a studio with a fellow student William Hilton. While living at the studio, de Wint was exposed to other artists, such as John Varley and Dr. Monro, who opened his eyes to watercolor. Finally, in 1809 he attended the Royal Academy schools and became a member of the Old Watercolour Society a year later. Peter de Wint’s settings for his watercolor pieces were strictly in England. The artist only took one trip abroad and claimed that England had everything he needed to paint. In his paintings, he only used ten specific pigments, some of those being “Yellow Ochre” and “Purple Lake”. His preferred thing to paint on was ivory-tinted Creswick paper. Although the beginning half of his career was not as successful, the last two decades of it brought many patrons and praise. He became a drawing master and taught wealthy families drawing during the summer. Because of his teaching position, many copycat de Wint paintings arose. Ending his career on a positive note, Peter de Wint died on June 30, 1849.