Dante Gabriel Rossetti had a lifelong enthusiasm for wombats and #WombatFriday is a fun way to celebrate that. Yes it is silly, but it also encourages participation. From the beginning, my favorite thing about Wombat Friday is how many people have come along for the ride. I guess my claim to fame is that on a weekly basis, I post photos of cuddly wombats juxtaposed with Pre-Raphaelite art. Sometimes with cake. I am totally fine with that.
If you are new to Wombat Friday, don’t miss these previous posts from Raine Szramski at Pre-Raphernalia and Kirsty Stonell Walker at The Kissed Mouth:
Pre-Raphernalia: Celebrating Wombat Friday
The Kissed Mouth: Wombat Friday
Interested in Rossetti and his wombat? I highly recommend Rossetti’s Wombat by John Simons, which discusses not only the artist’s pet but the fact that owning exotic animals was a popular late-19th century fad.
For the past few months, I have been using Wombat Friday as way to post a weekly collection of news and links related to the Pre-Raphaelites online. So without further ado:
Monday was May the Fourth, known to Star Wars fans as Star Wars Day (as in May the Fourth be with you). In honor of that, here’s my previous post on Princess Leia and her Pre-Raphaelite style.
Also this week, I took a look at birds in the art of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and posted about Robert Sephen Parry’s new book The Hours Before.
Kirsty Stonell Walker reviewed the latest movie adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd. Also, she shared two wonderful posts about May Prinsep: May Prinsep, My Princess and Good Morning May, May You Never Be June.
Via Twitter, author Dinah Roe posted that Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s obituary is now available to read through The Guardian’s archives. You can follow her on Twitter as @preraphsrule.
A remarkable study for Flaming June has been discovered hanging discreetly behind a bedroom door in an English country mansion. The sale of the study heir Bamber Gascoigne will contribute to restoring the home of Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, where it was found.
