The North East Coast of England

Stubbs Ralph Reuben (Rubens) was born in 1826 in Bridlington, England. His middle name can be found both ways in legal documents: Reuben and Rubens.

He was a son of Ralph I. Stubbs (1773 -1845), artist from Hull. The wild scenery of the Yorkshire coast had charms for him, and while being a boy of tender years, he rambled along the shores sketching the rugged headlands, with the ever-restless dashing beneath.

He had no schooling; his parents were too poor. Nature, perhaps the best teacher of all, embraced him as a favourite, and certainly no child of Nature was ever more diligent in learning.

In his earlier life he worked hard; he knew that he possessed the talent he could make no mark in the world of art unless he worked, and he toiled with a will and with an enthusiasm which, even in less naturally gifted man, must in the end have commanded success. The poor struggling artist had achieved a name.

Correctness of drawing, the judicious blending of colours, and the proper appreciation of perspective came intuitively to him. He was passionately found of art, and he worked and worked nobly, for it.

His name has been a household word in almost every home of refinement and taste in Yorkshire, jovial fellow, full of anecdote, mischief, and fun. Wherever he went he was the life and soul of the company, accommodating to all, and generous to a fault.

The paintings scattered all over Yorkshire, and grace some of the finest collections in the best-known galleries. There are in the hands of the picture dealers, and their value has been for year on the increase.

He died on March 30, 1879, in Levisham, England. Today his paintings are sought after by the private collectors.