John Robert Peel was born in England on September 26, 1830 and married Amelia Margaret Hall in 1849. After moving to London, Ontario (then Canada West), in 1852, he became a prominent artistic figure as a noted monument sculptor and drawing instructor. He owned the London Marble Works and also helped develop the local art scene as a co-founder of the Western School of Arts and Design and organizer of London’s first Art Loan Exhibition in 1878. All eight of his children had some degree of natural artistic ability, an environment he and Amelia fostered. His son Paul, and daughter Mildred, exhibited natural talent and were encouraged to draw at home. Paul would spend time at the London Marble Works, watching his father cutting and carving stones, which instilled in him an early interest in sculpture. Paul eventually achieved international recognition with a bronze medal at the Paris Salon in 1890 for "After the Bath".