Joseph Ratcliffe Skelton (active between 1888 and 1927), also known as J. R. Skelton, was a painter and illustrator. He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland. Skelton exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and he was elected a member of the Royal West of England Academy. Skelton lived in London.