Biography

English painter and illustrator. Born in Manchester, Dewhurst spent his childhood here, later making a living locally as a writer and illustrator. Between 1891 and 1895 he studied art in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Gérome, Bouguereau and Constant and at the Académie Julian. Here he particularly responded to the Impressionists in their use of bold colour and broken handling to convey the effects of light. He painted Impressionist landscapes in the environs of Paris, and he admired Monet. In 1897 he exhibited for the first time at the Salon.

In 1904 and 1907 he took part in the London exhibitions of the Society of British Artists and during the following years in international exhibitions at home and abroad.

In 1904, he published a book, Impressionist Painting, which was the first major British account of the subject. It argues the importance of Constable and Turner in the development of French Impressionist painting. This stance was refuted by Monet, Pissarro and others.