John Graham (painter) facts for kids

A Bedchamber, Desdemona in Bed asleep (Act V, scene 2), showing a scene from Shakespeare's Othello. This painting was made by John Graham for John Boydell's Boydell Shakespeare Gallery.

John Graham (1754 – 1 November 1817) was an important Scottish painter and art teacher from the 18th century. He is remembered for teaching many famous Scottish artists.

Life of John Graham

Richard Suett as Bayes in The Rehearsal by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1796). This painting is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

John Graham was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. When he was young, he became an apprentice to a coach-painter named George MacFarquhar. An apprentice learns a skill or trade by working for an expert.

After his apprenticeship, Graham moved to London and continued working as a coach-painter. He then started studying art at the Royal Academy Schools. These schools were a very important place for artists to learn. He showed his paintings there between 1780 and 1797.

Becoming a Teacher

Graham painted a picture called Othello and Desdemona for John Boydell's Boydell Shakespeare Gallery. This gallery was a special place that showed paintings inspired by Shakespeare's plays.

Graham tried four times to become an associate member of the Royal Academy. This is a step towards becoming a full member, which is a big honor for an artist. However, he was not chosen. This might have made him think about moving back to Scotland.

In 1798, Graham got a job as a "public Teacher of Art" in Edinburgh. A banker named Sir William Forbes helped him get this position. The famous painter Benjamin West thought Graham was perfect for the job.

Teaching Art in Edinburgh

The Board of Manufactures had started a drawing academy in 1760. Their goal was to make industrial design better in Scotland. John Graham's job was to teach art there. Before he officially started, he held an exhibition of his own paintings in Edinburgh.

The academy followed the same teaching style as the Royal Academy Schools. Graham was a very inspiring and effective teacher. Many important Scottish artists from the 19th century learned from him. These included David Wilkie, William Allan, John Burnet, Alexander Fraser, Walter Geikie, John Watson Gordon, John Henning, and William Home Lizars.

In 1859, the Royal Scottish Academy bought one of his paintings, The Disobedient Prophet. They wrote that Graham was a "Master to whom Scottish Art had been considerably indebted." This painting was displayed in the National Gallery of Scotland until 1896, when it disappeared.

Graham painted different kinds of pictures. He painted portraits of people, like the actress Tryphosa Jane Wallis. He also painted animals, such as a series of lion and tiger paintings. He made these after seeing the animals in the menagerie at the Tower of London.

John Graham passed away at his home on 1 November 1817, after being ill for a long time.

Famous Works by John Graham

Here are some of the well-known paintings by John Graham:

• Daniel in the lions' den (1780)
• Una (1783)
• Ceres in Search of Proserpine (1786)
• The Escape of Mary, Queen of Scots, from Lochleven Castle
• Mary, the Morning before her Execution (1792)
• King David instructing Salomon (1797)
• The Funeral of General Fraser at Saratoga
• The Disobedient Prophet (once in the National Gallery of Scotland)