Identity:

John Dawson Watson was a painter, watercolourist and illustrator.

Life:

Watson studied at the Manchester School of Design and the Royal Academy Schools. He achieved his first success with The Wounded Cavalier at the Manchester Royal Institution in 1851. Ford Madox Brown was an early mentor and a Pre-Raphaelite attention to detail and colour developed in Watson's work. He soon became a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy, the Society of British Artists and the Old Watercolour Society. He was also a successful illustrator for books and periodicals including Good Words, London Society and Once a Week.

Bibliography:

Wood, Christopher, Victorian Painters, 3rd ed., revised, 2 vols., Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1995; Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, 2004, on-line edition (accessed 5 July 2004).