John James Wilson

British 1818 - 1875

John James Wilson was a marine artist who began his career as a landscape painter. He was the son of the famous marine artist John H. (Jock) Wilson.

He refused to paint marine pictures until six years before his father’s death in 1855. He then quickly changed from landscape to marine painting, on which he concentrated for the rest of his life.

Wilson’s work was vigorous, bright and attractive and compares favourably with the work of many of the better artists of his time.

John James Wilson was a prolific artist; he exhibited in excess of five hundred paintings between 1831 and 1875, including fifty-five which were shown at the Royal Academy.



He also exhibited at the British Institution and Suffolk Street.

It has been suggested that Wilson also painted under the name of J. Mundell, certainly the paintings of both these artist have a remarkable similarity in their style of brushwork.

Examples of his work can be seen at the Folkestone Art Gallery, the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield and the Wolverhampton Art Gallery.