A Life Between Continents Louis John Steele was a man whose life was shaped by the movement of people and the shifting borders of Europe and the Pacific. Born in Reigate, Surrey, on 30 January 1842, he carried the traditions of his English roots into the grand studios of France and Italy. His early years were defined by rigorous training at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a place where the weight of classical tradition was felt in every brushstroke. He later traveled to Florence, absorbing the light and history of Italy before returning to the turbulent atmosphere of P…