John Curtis was a pupil of William Marlow at Twickenham. In 1790 he exhibited at the Royal AcademyA View of Netley Abbey, and was an occasional exhibitor in the following years. In 1797 he departed from his usual style, exhibiting a picture of the Indefatigable and Amazon frigates under Sir Edward Pellew engaging Les Droits de l'Homme, a French seventy-four. Nothing is known of his subsequent career. Some of his views were engraved.[2]