John Cross (29 May 1819 – 26 February 1861) was an English painter.

Life

Family grave of John Cross in Highgate Cemetery

Cross was born on 29 May 1819 to John and Elizabeth Cross, in

Tiverton, Devon Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587. History Early history The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-fo ...

, where his father was the superintendent of a lace factory. Soon afterwards the family moved to Saint-Quentin, in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, when his father took up an appointment as superintendent of an English factory. There the young Cross was admitted into the School of Design, where he showed so much ability that he was sent to Paris, where he entered the atelier of

Picot picot is a loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace or ribbon, or croché, knitted or tatted fabric. The loops vary in size according to their function and artistic intention. 'Picot', pronounced ''p ...

, a painter of some celebrity in the old classic school. In 1843 Cross submitted a cartoon of ''The Assassination of Thomas à Becket'' to the competition for the decoration of the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

, held in

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

, but was unsuccessful as it did not fully comply with the terms of the competition. A second attempt in 1847, with an oil painting of ''The Clemency of Coeur-de-Lion'', won him the first prize of £300, and was later purchased by the royal commissioners for £1,000. In 1850 he exhibited at the Royal Academy for the first time, his subject being ''The Burial of the Young Princes in the Tower''. This was followed by ''Edward the Confessor leaving his Crown to Harold'' in 1851; ''The Death of Thomas à Becket'' in 1853; ''Lucy Preston's Petition'' in 1856; and ''The Coronation of William the Conqueror'' in 1859; but none of Cross's later productions equalled his first effort. Following his death in London in 1861, his friends bought his ''Assassination of Thomas à Becket'' and placed it in

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. He is buried in a family grave above the Terrace Catacombs on the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

References

Sources

* 1819 births 1861 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters People from Tiverton, Devon Burials at Highgate Cemetery 19th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub