Background
Ashford was born in Birmingham, England in 1746.
Ashford was born in Birmingham, England in 1746.
He came to Dublin, Ireland in 1764 at the age of eighteen after having obtained an appointment in the Ordnance Office through the interest of the Surveyor-General, Ralph Ward. lieutenant is not known where he learned his art Within three years of his arrival, Ashford was exhibiting with the Society of Artists on William Street.
At first, he was an amateur painter specialising in flower paintings and still life, but in 1772 he exhibited his first landscape at the Dublin Royal Society of Arts.
He turned professional soon after. In the early 19th century he painted a number of landscapes in and around Mount Merrion for Lord Fitzwilliam.
lieutenant was near this time that he completed his Marino Casino, one of his finest works. Ashford was among the most respected landscape painters of Ireland in his time, on par with Thomas Roberts and George Barret.
The architect, James Gandon, designed his home in Sandymount, County Dublin.
He spent a year in London (1789-1790) where he became a member of the Society of Artists (London). He was elected President of the Irish Society of Artists in 1813, was a founding member of the Royal Hibernian Academy, becoming its first elected President in 1823.
