Ray Johnstone

Bonjour.
I'm Ray Johnstone, and I live in a small medieval village in south west France. My painting of Napoléon on horseback is inspired by the five famous portraits of Napoléon created by his official artist, Jacques-Louis David in 1800.
I officially gave this painting to the people of Mézin in February 2026. It is a token of thanks for the warmth and kindness they have always given us since we arrived here in 2000.
The painting is now housed permanently in the Hotel de Ville in Mézin on behalf of les citoyens de Mézin.
Even in France Napoléon remains a controversial figure. War is always despicable, and the Napoleonic Wars cost France and Europe many thousands of deaths and severely depleted the French economy. But there were many positives.
Napoleon united the country and supported the ideals of the French Revolution, ‘liberté, fraternité et égalité’. But his most significant contribution—that has benefitted the entire world—remains his support of Enlightenment ideals through his Napoleonic Code, which still forms the basis of civil law in many countries around the world today.
If you’d like a quote on any painting you might like to think about commissioning me to do, please email me the details. (Please keep in mind that...

Ray Johnstone is an artist and writer. He was born in South Africa in 1943 and educated at Parktown Boys’ High School and the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg.
Ray graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts, majoring in painting, drawing and sculpture.
He then participated in several group exhibitions in Johannesburg, including two at the prestigious Total Gallery.
One of his large nudes on show at a Pretoria exhibition created a controversy when a screen had to be erected around the painting to prevent it being seen by the then South African Prime Minister John Vorster.




Ray and his family emigrated to Australia in 1980 where he had seven solo exhibitions in Melbourne.
In 1997 he won the Applied Chemicals International Acquisitive Prize for a watercolour of a Victorian factory.
Australian radio personalities Terry Lane and Doug Aiton both have portraits done by Ray and his works are held by private collectors in France, Hong
Kong, Holland the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.