Biography for John Russell

Employment

Russell was born into a family of book and printsellers and, at an early age, was apprenticed to the leading distinguished pastellist and portrait painter, Francis Cotes (1726-1770). Russell himself shortly became one of the finest artists of pastel portraits in Britain and began exhibiting at the Royal Academy from the date of its foundation in 1768 and, in 1788 was elected a Royal Academician (RA). He painted many members of both the royal and aristocratic families in the country, travelling widely in order to draw direct from his sitters. His work is outstanding both on account of his fine draughtsmanship and his sensitive and invariably refined use of colour.