Newton gained admission to the Royal Academy Schools and developed a style that bridged formal portraiture and narrative genre painting. He often chose subjects from popular literature, including works by Molière and Shakespeare. His portraits, such as those of Samuel Appleton and Thomas Palmer, demonstrate a mastery of light and texture. He avoided the stiff formality of previous generations. Instead, he preferred a softer touch that captured the personality of his sitters through subtle expressions.

Modern collectors value Newton for his ability to translate the atmosphere of the Regency period onto canvas. His paintings provide a factual record of the intellectual elite in London and Boston during the early nineteenth century. These works act as windows into a world of literary salons and merchant wealth. The clarity of his compositions makes them suitable for contemporary interiors. They offer a sense of historical continuity without the heavy ornamentation found in later Victorian art.