Born in 1866, Watkins arrived in Sydney in 1882, and undertook further studies at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales (RAS) school under Julian Ashton, A. J. Daplyn and Frank P. Mahony. For many years the he ran the J. S. Watkins Art School located at Margaret Street, Sydney. He was a member of the (New South Wales) Society of Artists from 1895 and a member of RAS and a trustee of the Art …