William Graham (Glasgow MP) facts for kids
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William Graham (1817 – 16 July 1885) was an important Scottish politician and businessman. He was a member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow. Graham was also known for his businesses, which included selling wine and shipping cotton. Most importantly, he was a big supporter of a group of artists called the Pre-Raphaelites. He collected many of their artworks, especially those by Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
William Graham: Art Lover and Politician
William Graham's family started a business that began importing wines from Portugal in 1810. This company, W & J Graham & Co, became one of Britain's most famous port wine shippers.
Graham was a politician who belonged to the Liberal party. He was first elected as an MP for Glasgow on July 14, 1865. He was re-elected in 1868 when Glasgow gained more MP seats.
A Friend to Artists
William Graham was a close friend and supporter of the artist Edward Burne-Jones starting in 1856. Graham bought many of Burne-Jones's paintings. After Graham passed away, his art collection was sold, allowing other art lovers to buy these special pieces.
Graham also invited artists like Burne-Jones to his country home, Stobhall, in Scotland. Another artist, Edward Clifford, later bought three paintings from Graham's collection.
Graham also supported Dante Gabriel Rossetti. In 1869, he asked Rossetti to paint Found for a large sum of money. The painting was never finished, but Graham took ownership of it after Rossetti's death. In 1871, Graham also asked Rossetti to paint The Blessed Damozel. He also bought La Donna Della Finestra from Rossetti.
Graham started buying Rossetti's art in the mid-1860s. He later bought two important Pre-Raphaelite paintings: Ecce Ancilla Domini (1850) and The Girlhood of Mary Virgin (1849). Many of the paintings he owned are now in the Tate Britain museum in London.
Graham also bought many artworks from Edward Burne-Jones. In the 1870s, he asked Burne-Jones to create two large oil paintings: Laus Veneris and Chant d'Amour. These were very important parts of his large collection of Burne-Jones's work. Burne-Jones even painted a special piano for Graham's daughter, Frances. Frances continued her father's tradition of supporting Burne-Jones. William Morris and Burne-Jones also made a special copy of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam for Frances.
Graham was important not just for buying art, but also because his collection of old Italian paintings inspired the artists he supported, like Rossetti and Burne-Jones. After he died, his collection was sold by Christie's in April 1886.
His Family
William Graham had several children:
- Frances Jane Graham (1858–1940) married John Francis Fortescue Horner. They had children:
- Katharine Frances Horner (1885–1976) married Raymond Asquith. She was the mother of the current Earl of Oxford and Asquith.
- Edward Horner (1888 – November 1917) was a soldier who died in a battle during World War I.
- Agnes Graham (1860/1861–1937) married Herbert Jekyll. Agnes became a Dame of the British Empire. They had children:
- Barbara Jekyll (1887–1973) married Francis McLaren and later Colonel B. C. Freyberg.
- Pamela Jekyll (1889–1943) married Reginald McKenna.
