John RussellRA (29 March 1745 – 20 April 1806) was an English painter renowned for hisportrait work inoils andpastels, and as a writer and teacher of painting techniques.
Russell was born inGuildford,Surrey, the son of John Russell Snr., book and print seller and four times mayor of the town;[1] his father was something of an artist, and drew and published two views of Guildford. Russell was educated at theRoyal Grammar School, Guildford, and soon showed a strong inclination for art. He trained underFrancis Cotes RA (ofCavendish Square, London), one of the pioneers of English pastel painting, and, like Cotes, was an admirer of the pastel drawings ofRosalba Carriera whose methods influenced his technique of "sweetening". At the age of 19 he converted toMethodism, which was the cause of tension with his family and with his teacher; he made no secret of his strong evangelical leanings and would attempt to preach and convert at every opportunity.[2]
Russell set up his ownstudio, in London, in 1767. He made the acquaintance of the notorious Dr.William Dodd, whose portrait he painted in 1768.[3] He was introduced toSelina, Countess of Huntingdon, who unsuccessfully attempted to persuade him to give up painting and attend her Methodist ministers' training college atTrevecca in Wales. On 5 February 1770, he married Hannah Faden, daughter of aCharing Cross print and map seller, whom he had converted. They lived at No. 7Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, where he had moved in 1770.[2]
Russell's work caused him to travel extensively around Britain. In 1772, he wroteElements of Painting with Crayons, by which time he had won premiums for his drawings from theSociety of Arts in 1759 and 1760, and entered theRoyal Academy school of art in 1770, winning its gold medal for figure drawing the same year. He exhibited at theSociety of Artists of Great Britain in 1768 and showed 330 works at the Academy between 1769 until and his death.
In 1770, Russell painted Methodist minister,George Whitefield (engraved byJames Watson) and the future philanthropist,William Wilberforce, then only eleven years old.[4] In 1771, he exhibited a portrait in oils ofCharles Wesley at the Royal Academy and, in 1772, paintedSelina, Countess of Huntingdon in pastel.[5] This was a symbolic picture, and was lost on its voyage out; but it was engraved, and he later also painted her in oils. Also in that year he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy. The following year, 1773, he paintedJohn Wesley (engraved by Bland).[2]
In 1788, after a long wait, Russell was elected aroyal academician, in the same year painting a portrait of the naturalistSir Joseph Banks. In 1789, he was commissioned to portray the royal physicianFrancis Willis. The results obviously pleased the monarch as, in 1790, he was appointed Crayon (pastel) Painter to KingGeorge III, QueenCharlotte, the Prince of Wales (both of whom Russell also painted) and the Duke of York. With such royal patronage, he developed a large and fashionable clientele.
Russell was a man of deep religious beliefs, a devout follower of George Whitefield. He began an elaborate introspective diary inJohn Byrom's shorthand in 1766 and continued it to the time of his death. In it, he recorded his own mental condition and religious exercises, and occasionally information concerning his sitters. Though his religion appears to have become less militant after his marriage, his diary bears witness to his anxiety with regard to his spiritual welfare. Not only would he not work on Sunday, but he would allow no one to enter his painting-room. He was afraid to go out to dinner on account of the loose and blasphemous conversation which he might hear. He was on good terms with SirJoshua Reynolds, with whom he dined at the academy, theDilettanti Society, and theLiterary Club (now The Club), but he records that on these or other festive occasions he always left early.
He was troubled by ill-health for much of his life, and in 1803 became almost deaf following a bout ofcholera. He died inHull in 1806 after contractingtyphus.[2]
Russell's work can be viewed at many galleries in the UK and around the world, but the largest collection is held byGuildford House Art Gallery inGuildford. Many of his portraits were engraved by, amongst others,Joseph Collyer,Charles Turner,James Heath, Dean,Bartolozzi and Trotter.
Russell was interested inastronomy and made, with the assistance of his daughter, a lunar map, which he engraved on two plates which formed a globe showing the visible surface of the Moon – it took twenty years to finish. He also invented an apparatus for exhibiting the phenomena of the Moon, which he called "Selenographia".[2] Russell's large and highly detailed pastel drawing ofThe Face of the Moon (1793–1797) is "the most faithful early representation of the lunar sphere". Some of his best portraits were of the era's acclaimed scientists, such as his friendWilliam Herschel, who he depicted holding a stellar chart showing his discovery ofUranus. It was Herschel who provided the powerful telescope that Russell used for his painstaking lunar observations.[6][7]
Of his twelve children (of which four died in infancy),William Russell (1780–1870), exhibited portraits at the Royal Academy from 1805 to 1809. TheNational Portrait Gallery contains a portrait of Judge Sir John Bayley by him.[8] He was ordained in 1809, and gave up painting. He was forty years rector ofShepperton,Middlesex, and died on 14 September 1870. Two of John's daughters,Anne[9]andJane,[10] became artists as well.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: George Charles Williamson (1911). "Russell, John (painter)". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
