Herbert James Draper 1864-1920

Herbert James Draper was an English Classicist painter whose career began in the Victorian era and extended through the first two decades of the 20th century.

Born in London (22nd September 1920), the son of a jeweller named Henry Draper and his wife Emma, he studied art at St. John's Wood School of Art and in 1884 gained admission to the Royal Academy Schools. He gained the Landseer Scholarship for two years and travelled at that time in Spain, Morocco, Italy, France, Holland and Belgium. Hw worked in Paris at the Academie Julian in 1891 and took a studio for the winter 1891-92 in Rome. On returning home he took a studio in Kensington and began exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1887. He achieved his first public success with 'The Sea-Maiden' exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1894 and became a very popular painter of his day. A retrospective exhibition was held in 1913 at the Leicester Galleries. He died in London.