Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, John (1801-1870)
WOOD, JOHN (1801–1870), painter, son of a drawing-master, was born in London on 29 June 1801. He studied in Sass's school and at the Royal Academy, where in 1825 he gained the gold medal for painting. In the two previous years he had exhibited ‘Adam and Eve lamenting over the Body of Abel,’ and ‘Michael contending with Satan,’ and in 1826 he sent ‘Psyche wafted by the Zephyrs.’ These and other works displayed unusual powers of invention and design, and gained for him a great temporary reputation. In 1834 he competed successfully for the commission for the altar-piece of St. James's, Bermondsey, and in 1836 gained a prize at Manchester for his ‘Elizabeth in the Tower.’ During the latter part of his career he painted chiefly scripture subjects and portraits, which he exhibited largely at the Royal Academy and British Institution down to 1862. His portraits of Sir Robert Peel, Earl Grey, John Britton (in the National Portrait Gallery), and others have been engraved, as well as several of his fancy subjects. Wood died on 19 April 1870.
[Art Journal, 1870; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Graves's Dict. of Artists, 1760–1893.]