John Raphael Smith worked in various drapery establishments and painted miniatures before turning to engraving in London. He was appointed engraver to the Prince of Wales; he engraved about forty works of Reynolds's, some of them amongst the finest eighteenth-century English engravings; he operated a print dealership; and he also drew some excellent crayon portraits. He was a teacher of Turner's. He was learned, and a brilliant raconteur, but his 'dissipated habits' militated against his prosperity and he died with his career in a steep downward trajectory in Doncaster. The National Portrait Gallery, London, has a host of his portraits and prints.
Updated 2021
