, New York. North was born in
Walham Green in
London, England. His father Charles North was a
draper who together with his wife Fanny kept a shop in the area. They had three children apart from John – Charles, Fanny and Alfred. Little is known of John's early schooling, although he claimed to have been an avid reader from the age of 6 years. He left school at the age of 12. Due to a downturn in business, John's father was forced to shut up shop and relocate the business to
Worthing (on the
Sussex coast). After the business failed again, John's parents decided to emigrate with the youngest son Alfred to Canada. It is thought that John (then 14) and his two siblings, Charles and Fanny, were looked after by various relatives including an uncle in Walham Green, and a great uncle who owned a farm near
Kimpton in
Hertfordshire. He showed artistic ability at a young age and received some training at art school as well as instruction from a local artist called Hackman. At the age of 10 he completed his first watercolour,
The Thames from Wandsworth, which was subsequently exhibited by the
Royal Watercolour Society in 1919. A number of other watercolours and sketches were also completed in his teens. At the age of 16, he was apprenticed to produce illustrations for the notable London-based
wood engraver Josiah Whymper. There North became friends with
Frederick Walker,
Arthur Boyd Houghton and
George John Pinwell, who would later become associated with the
Idyllic school. He worked – using a brush and pencil – on black and white illustrations for various publications, gaining a reputation for the quality of his landscapes. In 1868 he moved to
Somerset, renting a room at
Halsway Manor near
Crowcombe – his friend and fellow artist
Frederick Walker also lived there. North's vivid watercolour of
Halsway Manor, from 1865, is in the
British Museum, London. In 1866 North's parents returned from Canada and he became the main provider for the whole family. North moved to the village of
Woolston in 1869. The period 1860–67 brought both artistic success as an illustrator and financial security. North was also developing his skill as a watercolourist, so much so that in 1867 he decided to pursue his painting full-time and abandon his illustration work. He made his debut at the Royal Academy in 1869 with four watercolours, including
The Wood Gatherers (1869;
Cleveland Museum of Art). In the subsequent years up to 1887, he divided his time painting between Somerset, a studio in London, and a house in
Algeria. North exhibited at the
Grosvenor Gallery and the
New Gallery and was a member of
Arts Club. He was eventually accepted as a member of the
Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and an associate of the
Royal Academy (ARA). In 1884 North married the 21-year-old Selina Weetch at
Bicknoller Church in Somerset, setting up home in
Beggearn Huish House in
Nettlecombe. They went on to have six children, including
Roland Arthur Charles North. Selina died in 1898. North became friends with the essayist
Richard Jefferies in 1883 until the latter's death in 1887. Subsequently, North was involved in setting up a fund for Jefferies' widow and family, and invited them to stay at his home in Somerset, even arranging for the education of Jefferies' son Harold. In 1895, North started the O.W. Paper & Arts Co. featuring fine papers for art printing and watercolor. In personality and politics North was a liberal, publicly championing the cause of social justice for the agricultural labouring class. He opposed the enclosure of common lands, campaigned for decent rural sanitation and for social housing. North died at
Stamborough, Somerset in 1924, and is buried in the New Cemetery at Nettlecombe. ==Art==