John Robert Peel (right) and J. R. Hughes (left) at the Marble Works, London, Ontario (c. 1884), sepia photograph on paper mounted on card, 18.4 x 24.3 cm., anonymous gift John Robert Peel (1830-1904) was born in London, England and died at London, Ontario. He was apprenticed as a young man to a marble and stone carver. His growing family originally emigrated to Philadelphia but their strong British roots led them to relocate to London in 1852. Peel soon established his own monument business and was holding private art classes in his shop. He was deeply dedicated to the Mechanics Institute, taught classes there and became a founder and director of the Western School of Art and Design. He also served as its drawing master for many years and in middle age even had his credentials upgraded to continue as an instructor there. Unlike his local contemporaries, Peel did not frequently exhibit his work although he did show at the Western Fair on a few occasions. His paintings, drawings and sculptures are rare and followed the traditional Victorian taste for the picturesque. Most of his many cemetery monuments, the core of his sculptural output, are not recorded.