1833-1898

From The Art of Shakespeare

Born in Poitiers, France in May 1833, Philip Hermogenes Calderon was the son of a priest who eventually left the Catholic church... Attracted to drawing and painting at an early age, Calderon received his first training in the visual arts at J.M. Leigh's Art School in London. After a year of study in London, Calderon, like so many other young nineteenth century artists, journeyed to the bustling artistic center of Paris to continue his training. 

In Paris, accompanied by his old friend and fellow painter, Stacy Marks, Calderon entered the studio of Francois Edward Picot (1786-1868) where he studied for approximately one year. Upon his return to London during the early 1850's, Calderon submitted his first works to the Royal Academy. From 1857 he began exhibiting there regularly and his meticulously crafted works earned him considerable aclaim and recognition. In 1863 he exhibited the masterful The British Embassy in Paris on the Night of the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew, which met with such great success that Calderon was made an Associate of the Royal Academy the following year. 

In 1867 Calderon won the only gold medal awarded to a Britih artist at the International Exhibition in Paris. He was elected to full membership in the Royal Academy later that year. In 1868 he exhibited The Young Lord Hamlet Riding on Yorick's Back, which established Calderon's reputation as one of the foremost Pre-Raphaelite painters of the day. Active in the affairs of the Royal Academy Calderon became Keeper in 1887, a position he held until his death in 1898.