The name John Stobart is synonymous with maritime art. Born in England in 1929, he showed an early aptitude for creativity, and his father enrolled him in the Derby College of Art in 1946. He achieved high honors and won a scholarship to London’s prestigious Royal Academy. Inspired by his studies at the academy and by works in nearby museums and galleries, Mr. Stobart honed his talent, and began to exhibit small landscape paintings of the English countryside. After graduation, he sailed to Africa, sketching the exotic ports he saw along the way.

He often painted the sailing vessels in these ports and sold them to the owners of shipping companies. In 1957, Mr. Stobart emigrated to Canada, and painted ships along the St. Lawrence River. On a visit to New York with his paintings, he was offered a one-man show by the Wunderlich family, founders of the Kennedy Galleries. They encouraged him in his pursuit of painting historic American harbor scenes. Over the next 15 years, he had seven sold-out one-man shows. Because his original oils were bought up so quickly, Mr. Stobart decided to publish limited editions of his works. He also began his contribution to art education — his highly acclaimed Emmy-nominated PBS series on outdoor painting is a further example of his commitment to tradition and excellence.