Raven was born in Suffolk on 21 August 1829. He was the son of the Review Thomas Raven, a clergyman of the Church of England, who had considerable talent as an amateur artist, as may be seen from six water-colour drawings by him in the South Kensington Museum.
John Raven was, however, almost entirely self-taught, initially by studying the works of John Crome and John Constable. This part of his career was focused on views of the area where he lived, near Saint Leonards. He at first fell under the influence of the Norwich school, but his maturer works, which show much poetic feeling, bear traces of pre-Raphaelitism.
lieutenant was his custom to prepare elaborate cartoons for his pictures.
He was drowned while bathing at Harlech on 13 June 1877.
