William Raphael
Canadian Artist , Ontario Society of Artist, Founding member of the Royal Canadian Academy, Pen & Pencil Club
William Raphael was born in 1833 in Nakel, Prussia. He was a painter, photographer, art teacher and restorer of paintings. He took classes at the Berlin School of Fine Arts. To escape the conflicts of his native region, Raphael left in 1857 for North America. After a brief stay in New York, Raphael arrives in Montreal to settle permanently.
He became a portraitist and photographer for the famous Notman Studios in Montreal. Raphael painted several portraits of notable Montrealers during the first years in Lower Canada, which will ensure his livelihood and that of his family. William Raphael is known for his genre scenes in the lives of Canadian and Aboriginal people under the gaze of the immigrant.
He is a member of the Art Association of Montreal since 1860, he participated in the creation of the Foundation of Canadian artists. He also became a founding member of the Royal Academy of Canada in 1880. William Raphael gave the first courses of drawings and painting of the academy. He will also be part of the Pen & Pencil Club of Montreal.