John Raphael Smith (1751-1812)

Francis Chantrey

1825

Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum

John Raphael Smith was a print-maker and -publisher who became "a prime mover in London's publishing world" (d'Oench). He patronised Chantrey and influenced his career introducing him to other useful people. The fact that he had become deaf by the time this bust was sculpted is conveyed by his slightly open lips: Chantrey found that "if you observe a deaf man's mouth, you will always find the lips unclosed when he is attending to you" (qtd. in "John Raphael Smith").

Photograph and text Jacqueline Banerjee