William Raphael

William Raphael RCA (August 22, 1833 – March 15, 1914), born Israel Rafalsky (Yiddish: ישראל ראַפֿאַלסקי), was a Prussian-born Canadian painter of portraits, still lifes, genre scenes and landscapes, best known for his lively scenes of the Montreal harbour and market life.

[4] Born in Nakel, West Prussia, of Orthodox Jewish background, he had a rigid academic training at the Berlin School of Fine Art with Johann Eduard Wolff [de] and Karl Begas.

In time, he became a noted portrait, genre and landscape artist with a wide range of subjects including flora and fauna, religious scenes, as well as making anatomical drawings for medical lectures and publications, illustrations for prints and books such as Picturesque Canada and working as an art restorer.

He worked and exhibited with the Society of Canadian Artists in Montreal (1867), of which he was a founder, the Art Association of Montreal, the Ontario Society of Artists (member in 1879), and the Royal Canadian Academy, of which he was a charter member.

[9] His work is in public collections such as the National Gallery of Canada, the McCord Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Château Ramezay.