The artist and arts educator in South Australia, James Ashton (1859–1935), was born on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. He won a scholarship to study at the South Kensington School of Art in London. After marrying in 1880, he emigrated to Australia in 1884, arriving in Adelaide with the intention of becoming a professional artist. He established an art school at Norwood in 1886. Returning to England in 1895, he received lessons from Henry Moore RA and was elected a member of the Royal Society of Arts in London.
Back in Australia, in 1896, he opened 'Ashton’s Academy of Arts' in Victoria Square in Adelaide, where for over thirty years he was the best known teacher of painting in South Australia. His pupils included Ivor Hele, Hans Heysen, Hayley Lever, Frank White and Arthur Baker-Clack. He was an art teacher at Prince Alfred College for nearly forty years, and donated his art collection and library to the school. He was president of the South Australian Society of Arts for four years and a founding member and longtime president of the Adelaide Easel Club.
His work is represented in numerous public collections across Australia, including the National Gallery of South Australia.
