John Thomas Peele (1822-1897) was a British painter specializing in portraits, landscapes, and

genre scene Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

s. Born in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, Northamptonshire, Peele immigrated to America with his parents in about 1834. The family settled in Buffalo, New York, where Peele began painting. In 1840, he traveled to New York City to continue his artistic training and enrolled in the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

's antique class. Peele remained in New York City for approximately eighteenth months and then settled in Albany, where he worked as a portrait painter for two years. From 1841 to 1844, Peele was in London attempting to launch a career as a society portraitist, but he failed to win substantial patronage. He returned to New York by 1845 and switched his focus to ideal genre subjects featuring children. The artist achieved some popularity with his sentimental compositions, eventually becoming a member of the National Academy of Design. In approximately 1851, he relocated to London. From 1852 to 1891, he exhibited at the Royal Academy, the British Institution, and the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

, to which he was elected in 1872. During this period, his work was also featured in exhibitions held at the Royal Society of Artists in Birmingham and the

Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibitio ...

. Although the artist kept a studio in London throughout the second half of his career, he spent extended periods in Liverpool, Douglas (Isle of Man), and Bexley Heath, Kent, where he maintained a second home after 1865. His career flourished during the last decades of his life. Prominent figures such as Prince Albert and the American landscape painter Frederick Edwin Church purchased several of his paintings and the dealers Messrs. Graves & Co. published engravings after his compositions.Dafforne, 139-40.

Gallery

File:John Thomas Peele, Portrait of a Boy, 1844.jpg, John Thomas Peele, "Portrait of a Boy," 1844. Oil on canvas, 33 x 26 1/2 in.

Museum of the City of New York A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

, New York File:John Thomas Peele, "Self-Portrait," 1846.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''Self-Portrait'', 1846. Oil on canvas mounted on academy board, 28 x 24 in.

, New York File:John Thomas Peele, John Motley.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''John Motley'', undated. Oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. Private collection, Bedford, New York File:John Thomas Peele, Mrs. Jon Motley (Susan Bogardus).jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''Mrs. Jon Motley (Susan Bogardus)'', undated. Oil on canvas, 29 x 24 in. Private collection, Bedford, New York File:John Thomas Peele, Luther Elting.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''Luther Elting'', undated. Oil on canvas, 36 x 29 in. Ulster County Historical Society, Marbletown, New York File:John Thomas Peele, The Stray Bird, 1849..jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''The Stray Bird'', 1849. Oil on canvas. Private collection, New Orleans, Louisiana File:Peele, Song of the Shirt, 1849.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''Song of the Shirt'', 1849. Oil on canvas, 25 x 19 1/2 in. Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, New York File:John Thomas Peele, Little Red Riding Hood, 1851.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brot ...

'', 1851. Oil on canvas, 49 x 38 in. Private collection, Kenwood, New York File:John Thomas Peele, "The Pet," 1853.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''The Pet'', 1853. Oil on canvas mounted on Masonite, 36 x 28 in.

, New York File: John Thomas Peele, Girl with Doves, 1858.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''Girl with Doves'', 1858. Oil on academy board, 15 1/8 x 11 3/8 in.

Olana State Historic Site Olana State Historic Site is a historic house museum and landscape in Greenport, New York, near the city of Hudson. The estate was home to Frederic Edwin Church (1826–1900), one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape pa ...

, Hudson, New York File:John Thomas Peele, Pain (Boy Cracking Nuts), 1859.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''Pain (Boy Cracking Nuts)'', 1859. Oil on canvas, 16 1/2 x 12 3/4 in.

, Hudson, New York File:Peele, Girl Knitting with Cat, 1873.jpg, John Thomas Peele, ''Welch Interior'', 1873. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in.

, New York

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peele, John Thomas 1822 births 1897 deaths People from Peterborough 19th-century British people British male painters 19th-century American painters 19th-century British painters 19th-century British male artists