The model for Millais’ painting of Portia has often been incorrectly identified as Shakespearean actress Ellen Terry. The model was actually Kate Dolan, although the mistake is understandable as she was painted wearing Ellen Terry’s costume: Of course I will lend you the dress (here it is.) or anything in the world that I possess, that could be of the…
-
-
Dame Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth
Today marks the birthday of John Singer Sargent in 1856. So I thought I’d share one of my favorite works of his, Dame Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth. Victorian actress Ellen Terry fascinates me and in a previous blog post about her memoirs, I shared her own words on the Lady Macbeth costume, which I will also include here. It…
-
Wombat Friday: Ellen Terry on Rossetti’s Animals
Last week I shared an account of Burne-Jones and Rossetti and their fascination with that delightful creature, the wombat. Today I share another contemporary account of Rossetti and his strange collection of animals. Alas, no mention of the beloved wombat, but it is an interesting account of Rossetti and his menagerie. From The Story of My Life by Dame Ellen…
-
Dame Ellen Terry
My interest in Dame Ellen Terry takes me to a period a bit later than the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Born into an acting family, Terry married painter George Frederic Watts when she was sixteen which introduced her to the likes of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Tennyson and other luminaries of the Victorian era. I recently read her memoirs, available for free at…
-
Pursuing Ellen Terry
I’ve become quite interested in the actress Ellen Terry . One of the most popular performers of her day, Terry was briefly married to artist G.F. Watts, worked repeatedly with Sir Henry Irving, and had a famous correspondence with Bernard Shaw. I happened upon this fabulous video, a rare treasure that shares brief footage of Terry in a silent film and…
