John Graham Lough in his Studio, by Ralph Hedley (1848–1913). Oil on canvas. 1881. H 89 x W 60.5 cm. Collection: Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, accession no. TWCMS : N2302, purchased from Christie's, 1987. Image reproduced from the entry on Hedley in the PSSA (Public Statues and Sculpture Association), where it is identified as being in the public domain.
As a Northumbrian sculptor, and one who created the Stephenson Memorial opposite Newcastle Station, Lough was sure to attract Hedley's interest, and the story of how the struggling young sculptor worked on this colossal sculpture in his garret would be bound to appeal to any artist. Here, Hedley shows him engaged in his labour to create a mighty hero meeting a cruel fate:
Milo, the Crotonian athlete of prodigious strength, after being six times crowned at the Olympic games, died an ignoble death; for in attempting to divide the trunk of an oak he was caught by the hand, and the cleft tree closing upon him, his strength was unavailing, and he was devoured by the wild beasts of the wood. [Buonarroti 12]
Lough was able to impress contemporary critics with his ability to suggest the complex psychology of the beleaguered hero:
The Herculean limbs of the wrestler, and the noble sweep of the whole form, are not more admirable than the antique beauty of the face, in which the sufferings of the mind appear even more intense than the torment he endures from the relentless fangs of the wolf. There is no distortion of features — no terror exhibited in the countenance. He suffers like a man accustomed to the endurance of pain, and still, though vainly, endeavours to grapple with his devouring enemy. His brow expresses the indignant feelings of a noble spirit stung with the certainty of a death unworthy of the name which had resounded through Greece.
The wolf clings to his prey with a tenacity of grasp so intense, his avidity of blood is so expressively marked in the eye and countenance, and his whole frame so bent up to his repast, that the mechanism of art is almost lost in the identity of nature. [Buonarotti 13-14]
But what impresses us almost as much, or even more, in the painting is the youth of the artist, and the contrast between his white-clad, almost angelic figure, high above the interests of this world, and the other figures below him. On the left is his aggrieved landlord, in earnest conversation with another, who looks up spell-bound towards this vision of creation, and perhaps is not even hearing his complaint. This celebrates the well-known incident in which Henry Brougham, "the leading Queen’s Counsel and greatest orator of the day," having heard of this extraordinary case, went to inspect it for himself, and was bowled over by the tenant's project and ambition, and therefore determined to help him (Watson 102). It gives a great insight into the character of Brougham, the reformist, as well as the early career of the sculptor. Art itself is vindicated, as being above mere practical concerns, while the artist is exalted in his role as creator. — Jacqueline Banerjee.
Related Material
Bibliography
Buonarotti. John Graham Lough. London: Thomas Davison, 1828. Google Books. Free to read. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Statues_of_John_Graham_Lough/sp7ze7X-T_UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=John+Graham+Lough&printsec=frontcover
Harrison, Brian. "John Lough — The Mad Moment that Created an Artistic Genius." Consett Magazine. 14 April 2014. Online edition. Web. 10 March 2026. https://consettmagazine.com/2014/04/04/john-lough-the-mad-moment-that-created-an-artistic-genius-54730/
"John Graham Lough (1798-1876)." PSSA (Public Sculpture and Statues Association). Web. 10 March 2026.
Watson, Robert Spence. The History of the Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1793-1896. London: Walter Scott, 1897. Google Books. Free to read. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_History_of_the_Literary_and_Philosop/YvEcAAAAMAAJ
Created 10 March 2026