Biography.guide
Home › People › Painter › John Goffe Rand
Portrait of John Goffe Rand

John Goffe Rand

1801 – 1873

American painter

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About John Goffe Rand

Lived 1801 – 1873 (aged 71). John Goffe Rand was an American painter and inventor.

John Goffe Rand (27 January 1801–23 January 1873) was an American painter and inventor. He lived and worked in Boston, London, and New York. Rand invented and patented the first collapsible artist's paint tube.

The tin tube allowed unused oil paint to be stored and used later without drying out. In 1841, Rand patented the invention with the United States Patent Office (Sept 11, 1841 Patent No. 2,252). He went on to patent several later improvements.

Jean Renoir, son of the Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, states that his father once said “Without paints in tubes, there would have been no Cézanne, no Monet, no Sisley or Pissaro, nothing of what the journalists were later to call Impressionism.” Art historian Anthea Callen has argued, however, that Impressionism "cannot be attributed simply to the ready portability" of paint.

Other later inventions by Rand were not as widely received, and most of his ideas were not financially successful.

He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Also known as
John Rand, John G. Rand, John Foffe Rand

People in John Goffe Rand's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped John Goffe Rand's

Frequently asked questions

Who was John Goffe Rand?

American painter (1801-1873)

When was John Goffe Rand born?

John Goffe Rand was born on 27 January 1801 in Bedford.

When did John Goffe Rand die?

John Goffe Rand died on 23 January 1873.

What was John Goffe Rand's occupation?

John Goffe Rand was a painter and inventor.

What nationality was John Goffe Rand?

John Goffe Rand was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: John Goffe Rand

· Wikidata: Q2143574

· DBpedia: John G. Rand

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). John Goffe Rand. https://biography.guide/john-goffe-rand/

MLA: "John Goffe Rand." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/john-goffe-rand/.

Chicago: "John Goffe Rand." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/john-goffe-rand/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-24 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:09 UTC