John Graham-Gilbert (1794 – 4 June 1866) was a Scottish portrait painter and art collector.

Life

The grave of John Graham Gilbert, Glasgow Necropolis

Graham-Gilbert was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

as John Graham, the son of David Graham a West India merchant and co-owner of Graham, Milne & Co who owned a counting house (accountants) on Queen Strett. John was at first trained in his father's counting-house, but preferred art and travelled to London in 1818 where he was admitted into the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. In 1819 he won a silver medal for best drawing from the antique, and in 1821 a gold medal for his historical painting of ‘The Prodigal Son.’ He established himself in London as a portrait-painter, and contributed to the exhibitions of the Royal Academy from 1820 to 1823. He then went to Italy to study old masters of the Venetian school. He settled in Edinburgh in 1827, living at 14 George Street in the

New town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. He sent a portrait to the first exhibition of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

. In 1834 he married the wealthy heiress Miss Jane Gilbert of

Yorkhill Yorkhill ( gd, Cnoc Eabhraig) is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde in the West End of the city. It is known for its famous hospitals and remains the location of the West Glasgow Ambulatory Care Ho ...

. He added her name to his, and moved to her native Glasgow. He remained an exhibitor at the Royal Scottish Academy, but from 1844 he also exhibited at the Royal Academy in London He died at Yorkhill House in north-west Glasgow on 4 June 1866. He is buried on the northern slope of the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

. Yorkhill House was demolished around 1910 to make way for the Hospital for Sick children.

Family

In 1834, on marriage to Jane Gilbert, daughter of Andrew Gilbert a rich Glasgow merchant, he thereafter called himself John Graham Gilbert. Through this marriage he inherited Yorkhill House from his father-in-law.

Trivia

The counting house where Graham Gilbert trained still exists on the corner of Queen Street and St Vincent Street. Now a bar, it is called The Counting House and is relatively intact both inside and out.

Works

File:JohnGraham-TheRajahofMadras-c1828.jpg, Portrait of Colonel

William Farquhar William Farquhar ( ; 26 February 1774 – 11 May 1839) was a Scottish colonial administrator employed by the East India Company, who served as the sixth Resident of Malacca between 1813 and 1818, and the first Resident of Singapore between ...

, c. 1828 File:Sir Walter Scott, 1st Bt by John Graham Gilbert.jpg, Portrait of Scottish historical novelist

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

, 1st Bt, 1829 File:Adam Black by John Graham-Gilbert.png, Portrait of the merchant Adam Black

Art collection

His widow Mrs. Graham-Gilbert, who died in 1877, bequeathed to the Corporation Galleries of Art at Glasgow a small collection left to her by her husband, together with a number of his own pictures, totalling 70 paintings. These include works by

Palma Vecchio Palma Vecchio (c. 1480 – 30 July 1528), born Jacopo Palma, also known as Jacopo Negretti, was a Venetian painter of the Italian High Renaissance. He is called Palma Vecchio in English and Palma il Vecchio in Italian ("Palma the Elder") to di ...

Gaspard Dughet Gaspard Dughet (15 June 1615 – 25 May 1675), also known as Gaspard Poussin, was a French painter born in Rome. Life Dughet was born in Rome, the son of a French pastry-cook and his Italian wife. He has always generally been considered as a Fr ...

Paris Bordone Paris Bordone (Paris Paschalinus Bordone; 5 July 1500 – 19 January 1571) was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of Mannerism, Mannerist complexity and provincial vigor. Biog ...

and Dutch masters such as

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

Johannes Lingelbach Johannes (or Johann) Lingelbach (1622–1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, associated with the second generation of Bambocciate, a group of genre painters working in Rome from 1625–1700. Biography Lingelbach was born in Frankfurt, ...

, Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy,

Philips Wouwerman Philips Wouwerman (also Wouwermans) (24 May 1619 (baptized) – 19 May 1668) was a Dutch painter of hunting, landscape and battle scenes. Life and work Philips Wouwerman was one of the most versatile and prolific artists of the Dutch Golden ...

Willem van de Velde the Younger Willem van de Velde the Younger (18 December 1633 (baptised)6 April 1707) was a Dutch Republic, Dutch marine painter, the son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, who also specialised in maritime art. His brother, Adriaen van de Velde, was a landsc ...

and

Ludolf Bakhuizen Ludolf BakhuizenLudolf Bakhuizen
at the

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and since then has been one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions. The museum has 22 galleries, h ...

References

* :s:Graham-Gilbert, John (DNB00)
John Graham Gilbert
in the

Oxford Biography Index The Oxford Biography Index is an Oxford University Press (OUP) authority file. Although the index itself does not require registration, content linked from the index does. Originally a British national authority file based on the ''Oxford Dictiona ...

, Number 101011228 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, John Graham 1794 births 1866 deaths Artists from Glasgow 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Scottish portrait painters Scottish art collectors Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Royal Scottish Academicians Burials at the Glasgow Necropolis 19th-century Scottish male artists