He was born in Maple Grove, Quebec, and studied with William Brymner at the Art Association of Montreal, going on to study at the Académie Julian in Paris where in 1912 he met A. Y. Jackson.[1] He served overseas during World War I, taking part in the Somme offensive, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1918. After the war, he worked for Miller Brothers, paper box manufacturers, and became company president in 1921. He left the company to concentrate on painting but had returned to the position of company president by 1926. Hewton also married Isobel Monk (née Robertson) around this time. In 1933, he moved away from Montreal when Miller Brothers moved to Glen Miller, Ontario.[4]