View source for Herbert James Draper

{{Short description|British painter (1863-1920)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Herbert James Draper
| image         = Herbert James Draper.jpg
| caption       = Herbert James Draper
| birth_name    = Herbert James Draper
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1863|11|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = London, England
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1920|9|22|1863|11|26|df=yes}}
| death_place   = London, England
| nationality   = English
| field         = Painting
| training      = [[St John's Wood Art School]]
| movement      = [[Classicism]]
| works         = ''[[The Lament for Icarus]]'', 1898<br />''[[Ulysses and the Sirens (Draper)|Ulysses and the Sirens]]'', 1909
| patrons       =
| awards        = Gold Medal, 1890<br />Travelling Scholarship, 1890
}}

'''Herbert James Draper''' ({{birth date|1863|11|26|df=yes}} – {{death date|1920|9|22|df=yes}}) was an English [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassicist]] painter whose career began in the [[Victorian era]] and extended through the first two decades of the 20th century.

== Life ==
Born in [[Covent Garden]], London, the seventh child and only son of a fruit merchant named John James Draper and his wife Emma,<ref>1871 British census St. Paul, Covent Garden</ref><ref>Simon Toll, ''Herbert Draper, 1863–1920: A Life Study'', Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, 2001, {{ISBN|9781851493784}}, p.&nbsp;49. Toll, p.&nbsp;171, notes that 1864 and 1865, both sometimes given as Draper's birth year, are incorrect.</ref> Draper was educated at [[Bruce Castle School]] in [[Tottenham]]<ref name="Times1920">''The Times'', September 23, 1920; p. 1; Issue 42523; col A.</ref> and then went on to study art at the [[Royal Academy]].<ref name="Times1920"/>  He undertook several educational trips to Rome and Paris between 1888 and 1892, having won the Royal Academy Gold Medal and Travelling Studentship in 1889. In the 1890s, he worked as an illustrator, eventually settling in London. In 1891, he married Ida (née Williams), with whom he had a daughter, Yvonne.<ref name="Times1920"/>  He died of [[arteriosclerosis]] at the age of 56, in his home on [[Abbey Road, London|Abbey Road]].

== Career ==

Draper's most productive period began in 1894. He focused mainly on mythological themes from ancient Greece. His painting ''[[The Lament for Icarus]]'' (1898) won the gold medal at the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Exposition Universelle]] in Paris in 1900 and was later bought for the [[Tate Gallery]] by the [[Francis Leggatt Chantrey|Chantrey Trustees]].  He was also responsible for the decoration of the ceiling of the [[Worshipful Company of Drapers|Drapers' Hall]] in the City of London.<ref name="Times1920" /><ref>[[commons:File:Herbert James Draper, Prospero Summoning Nymphs and Deities.jpg|Prospero summoning Nymphs and Deities]], Wikimedia Commons.</ref> His draftsmanship was excellent in sensuous portrayals of both male and female nudes;<ref name=review/> several of his paintings portray proud, in some cases predatory female sexuality, for example ''The Gates of Dawn'' (1899), ''The Water Nixie'' (1908), ''Ulysses and the Sirens'' (1909)<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20201031231833/https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/united-kingdom-museums/leeds-museums/leeds-art-gallery/ulysses-and-the-sirens-by-herbert-james-draper/ "'Ulysses and the Sirens' by Herbert James Draper"]}}, ''Joy of Museums Virtual Tours'', retrieved 31 October 2023.</ref>  and ''The Kelpie'' (1913).<ref name=review/><ref>Toll, pp. 101, 134, 140.</ref>

In later years as the public tastes changed and mythological scenes became less popular, he concentrated more on portraits.<ref name="Times1920"/> Among his portrait subjects are the army officer [[William Franklyn (British Army officer)|Sir William Edmund Franklyn]],<ref name=Art>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:draper-herbert-james-18641920 "Works by Herbert James Draper], ''Art UK'', retrieved 31 October 2023.</ref> [[Lucius O'Brien, 15th Baron Inchiquin]], his wife and his eldest son [[Donough O'Brien, 16th Baron Inchiquin|Donough]] as a young boy,<ref>Toll, pp. 103, 105.</ref> the physician [[Philip Pye-Smith]] (commissioned by [[Guy's Hospital]]),<ref>Toll, p. 105.</ref> the actress [[June Tripp]] (twice),<ref>Toll, pp. 160–62, 167.</ref> in addition to his wife, who may also have served as the model for his ''Autumn''.<ref name=review/><ref>Toll, p. 88.</ref> Draper was well-known as a portrait painter. At a charity auction for the [[Red Cross]] in 1918, his offer to paint a child's portrait brought in a bid of £250, {{Inflation|index=UK|value=250|start_year=1918|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}.<ref>''The Times'', July 15, 1918, p. 4; Issue 41842; col A.</ref> 

Draper took part in the annual expositions of the [[Royal Academy]] from 1890 on.<ref name="Times1920"/> He was proposed for membership in 1898, 1903, 1905 and 1920, but was passed over for election.<ref>Toll, p. 167.</ref><ref name=review>[[George P. Landow]], [https://victorianweb.org/painting/draper/toll.html "A Review of Simon Toll's ''Herbert Draper, 1863-1920: A Life Study''"], ''The Victorian Web'', 5 April 2007, retrieved 31 October 2023.</ref> In his last years, his popularity faded, though there has recently been a revival of interest in his work on the art market.<ref>His painting ''The Sea Maiden'' was sold for £937,250 ($1,384,318) in Sale 7856 at Christie's in London, 16 June 2010.</ref><ref>[https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/11280/lot/75/#/! Auction 11280, Lot 75: Herbert James Draper, ''By Summer Seas''], Bonhams, 2004.</ref> The [[Royal Cornwall Museum]]'s  2010 auction of his ''The Sea Maiden'' and [[Ernest Normand]]'s ''Bondage'' to help secure its finances generated debate about the policy of disposing of art works for this purpose.<ref>Tiffany Jenkins, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/donrsquot-put-a-price-on-our-national-treasures-2035297.html "Don't put a price on our national treasures"], ''The Independent'', 26 July 2010.</ref><ref>Martin Gammon, ''Deaccessioning and Its Discontents: A Critical History'', Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2018, {{ISBN|9780262345200}}, p. 114.</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="160px" heights="160px" perrow="5">
File:Herbert James Draper, The Sea Maiden.jpg|''The Sea Maiden'', 1894
File:Herbert James Draper, Bather.jpg|''Bather'', 1896
File:Herbert James Draper, The Vintage Morn.jpg|''The Vintage Morn'', 1896
File:Herbert James Draper, The Foam Sprite.jpg| ''The Foam Sprite'', 1896
File:Herbert James Draper, Calypso's Isle.jpg|''Calypso's Isle'', 1897
File:Herbert Draper - The Lament for Icarus - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[The Lament for Icarus]]'', 1898
File:Herbert James Draper For Saint Dorothea's Day 1899.jpg|''For Saint Dorothea's Day'', 1899
File:AWaterBaby.jpg|''A Water Baby'', c. 1900
File:Herbert James Draper, The Gates of Dawn, 1900.jpg|''Gates of Dawn'', 1900
File:DrapersTristanIsolde.jpg|''Tristan and Isolde'', 1901
File:Herbert James Draper, Prospero Summoning Nymphs and Deities.jpg|''Prospero Summoning Nymphs and Deities'', c. 1902
File:Thekelpie large.jpg|''The [[Kelpie]]'', 1903
File:Herbert James Draper, Sea Melodies.jpg|''Sea Melodies'', 1904
File:Herbert James Draper, The Golden Fleece.jpg|''The Golden Fleece'', 1904
File:Herbert James Draper, Ariadne.jpg|Ariadne, c. 1905
File:Herbert James Draper, Art and the Jade.jpg|''Art and the Jade'', 1906
File:Draper Herbert The Pearls of Aphrodite.jpg|''The Pearls of Aphrodite'', 1907
File:Draper-The Water Nymph.jpg|''The [[Water Nymph]]'', 1908
File:Ulysses and the Sirens by H.J. Draper.jpg|''[[Ulysses and the Sirens (Draper)|Ulysses and the Sirens]]'', 1909
File:Draper-Lamia.jpg|''The [[Lamia]]'', 1909
File:Herbert James Draper, By Summer Seas.jpg|''By Summer Seas'', 1912
File:Herbert James Draper, Oil study for Clyties of the Mist.jpg|''Clyties of the Mist'', 1912
File:Herbert James Draper - Halcyone (1915).jpg|''Halcyone'', 1915
File:Herbert James Draper, A Young Girl by a Pool.jpg|''A Young Girl by a Pool''
File:Herbert James Draper, In the Studio.jpg|''In the Studio''
File:Herbert James draper, The Golden Rays.jpg|''The Golden Rays''
File:Go Lovely Rose! Tell her that Wastes her Time and Mine).jpg|''Go Lovely Rose! Tell her that Wastes her Time and Mine''
File:Herbert James Draper, A Nymph in a Sunlit Glade.jpg|''A Nymph in a Sunlit Glade''
File:Miss Barbara de Selincourt, by Herbert James Draper.jpg|''Portrait Of Miss Barbara De Selincourt''
File:Herbert James Draper, Portrait of Ida Draper.jpg|Ida Draper
</gallery>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/draper/index.html H J Draper] (Victorian Web)
*[http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/draper_herbert.html H J Draper online] (ArtCyclopedia)
*[https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/herbert-draper-1029 Works by H J Draper] (Tate Gallery)
*[http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=98 H J Draper] (Art Renewal Center)
* {{Gutenberg author | id=37492| name=Herbert James Draper}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Herbert James Draper}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Herbert James}}
[[Category:1863 births]]
[[Category:1920 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century English painters]]
[[Category:English male painters]]
[[Category:20th-century English painters]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's Wood Art School]]
[[Category:English illustrators]]
[[Category:Mythological painters]]
[[Category:People educated at Bruce Castle School]]
[[Category:English portrait painters]]
[[Category:Painters from London]]
[[Category:20th-century English male artists]]
[[Category:19th-century English male artists]]