A Surrey landscape painter, John Clayton Adams lived in Edmonton and Guildford. He exhibited at the RA between 1863 and 1893 and also at the Society of British Artists, the New Watercolour Society, the Grosvenor Gallery and the New Gallery. His subject matter was mainly views in Surrey and the southern counties. His landscapes, which are painted in a rich, broad technique, are natural and realistic, and full of feeling for light and colour. Adams is one of the most individual and least recognised of the late Victorian landscape painters.