| Timeline |
| 1856 |
Born 12 January in Florence |
| 1873 |
Begins formal training at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence |
| 1874 |
Family moves to Paris, John studies with Carolus-Duran, he passes the entrance exams to study drawing at the École des Beaux-Arts |
| 1876 |
First visit to America |
| 1877 |
Miss Frances Sherborne Ridley Watts accepted at the annual Salon exhibition |
| 1878 |
Summers in Naples and Capri |
| 1879 |
Travels in Spain, studies and copies works by Velazquez at the Prado |
| 1880 |
Travels to Morocco, copies paintings by Frans Hals in Holland |
| 1882 |
Exhibits in London for the first time, at Royal Academy, Grosvenor Gallery, and Fine Arts Society |
| 1886 |
Moves to London |
| 1887 |
Travels to America to paint portraits in Newport, Boston, and New York |
| 1889 |
Named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour |
| 1891 |
Travels in Egyt, Greece, and Turkey
Elected Associate of the National Academy of Design, New York |
| 1894 |
Elected Associate of the Royal Academy, London |
| 1897 |
Elected to full membership of both Royal Academy and National Academy of Design |
| 1905 |
Travels to Syria and Palestine |
| 1907 |
Edward VII recommends him for a knighthood, which he declines because of his American citizenship |
| 1918 |
Spends four months near the battlefront in France as an official British war artist |
| 1925 |
Dies in sleep 15 April in London |
