John Griffiths

John Griffiths (1837–1918) was a Welsh artist and educator whose career was closely tied to India and the development of Orientalist art. Born on 29 November 1837 in Llanfair Caereinion, Montgomeryshire, he was the son of Evan Griffiths and Mary Evans. Following his father’s death, Griffiths was raised largely by his uncle, though his artistic leanings were noticed early by Sir James Clark, physician to Queen Victoria, who arranged for him to study at what is now the Royal College of Art. He later worked at the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum, contributing to its decoration.

In 1865 Griffiths moved to India as Principal of the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art in Bombay. There, he collaborated closely with John Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard Kipling, of whom Griffiths was a godfather. Under his direction, the School contributed to the decoration of many new public buildings in Bombay, including the Victoria Terminus and the High Court.

After a decade in Bombay, Griffiths was appointed Principal of the Mayo School of Art and Curator of the Lahore Museum. One of his most significant projects was supervising the copying of the celebrated Buddhist cave paintings at Ajanta, published in two monumental folio volumes that remain important records of the site.

Griffiths retired in 1895 and returned to Britain, living first in Montgomeryshire and later in Dorset. He died on 1 December 1918.