John H. Gibb was born in Stirlingshire, Scotland, and studied under John Mackenzie of Greenock, Renfrewshire. He settled in the village of Innellan, on the Firth of Clyde, but briefly lived at Alnwick, Northumberland (c.1865-68). His works were exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts. In 1876 he emigrated to Christchurch, New Zealand, where he was unrivalled as a marine and coastal artist and his paintings were exhibited throughout the country. In 1879/80 he moved to Australia and became a member of the Art Society of New South Wales in Sidney. His son, W. Menzies Gibb, trained under his him and at the National Gallery of Victoria School, Melbourne. The family had returned to New Zealand by 1892.
