September: A Month of Pre-Raphaelite Origins

Happy Wombat Friday! We’ve reached September, which is an important month in Pre-Raphaelite history – on the 8th of September 1848, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood formed. Throughout the month, the Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood blog will be exploring the early days of the PRB, early works, members, and, of course, the women involved. Thanks for joining us!

Notre Dame Still Stands

In 1855, Elizabeth Siddal visited Paris on a journey funded by her patron, art critic John Ruskin. I’ve often wondered what the experience was like for her. She had gone through so many thrilling changes in her life at this point, from shop girl to artist’s model, to gliding effortlessly to the other side of … Read more

Bothered by Art Censorship? #MeToo

The Manchester Art Gallery announced this week that it has removed from exhibition the painting Hylas and the Nymphs by J.W. Waterhouse, and also the post cards of it in its gift shop. The gallery’s stated goal is to “challenge this Victorian fantasy” of “the female body as either a ‘passive decorative form’ or a ‘femme … Read more

Thanks for #PRBday!

After a weekend of worldwide tragedy, to spend a day where Pre-Raphaelite art filled my Twitter feed was a welcome diversion.  It was great fun and I’d like to extend a hearty thanks to the Pre-Raphaelite Society, Serena Trowbridge, and Madeleine Pearce for orchestrating #PRBday. I took a few screenshots to share how beautiful Twitter … Read more

#PRBday is coming!

The Pre-Raphaelite Society will be hosting #PRBday on Twitter this Sunday, November 15th. It’s a fun way to discuss the Pre-Raphaelites and I look forward to reading your tweets and talking with you, so don’t be shy!  Participants should include the hashtag #PRBday to join in on the discussion. If you don’t already, I suggest … Read more

Once again, it’s #WombatFriday!

Inspired by artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s passion for wombats, every Friday is Wombat Friday at Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. “The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti Earlier this week, I shared thoughts on Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Proserpine and blogging about art as a serious endeavor. The Watts Gallery … Read more

#WombatFriday Weekly Update

Inspired by artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s passion for wombats, every Friday is Wombat Friday at Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. “The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Pre-Raphaelite Society is celebrating 6k members in their Facebook group.  I’m proud to be a member of both the Facebook group and … Read more

In her wombat she still delights

Inspired by artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s passion for wombats, every Friday is Wombat Friday at Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. “The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti Since my last post was all about The Lady of Shalott, the enthusiasm for this popular Pre-Raphaelite subject has spilled over into Wombat … Read more

To strive, to seek, to find

Inspired by artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s passion for wombats, every Friday is Wombat Friday at Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. “The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti The birthday of Alfred,Lord Tennyson was this week, which brings to mind one of my favorite passages from his poem Ulysses: Tho’ much … Read more

It’s #WombatFriday!

Wombats, books, and pie. Life is complete. Inspired by artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s passion for wombats, every Friday is Wombat Friday at Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. “The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti If you missed yesterday’s post: Evelyn De Morgan’s Daughters of the Mist.    My lovely friend … Read more

Wombats love Jane Morris

Inspired by artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s passion for wombats, every Friday is Wombat Friday at Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood. “The Wombat is a Joy, a Triumph, a Delight, a Madness!” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti Happy #WombatFriday!  Our art-loving wombat admires a photograph of Jane Morris. You know wombats are drawn to Jane Morris’ unconventional beauty.  Last weekend, … Read more

#WombatFriday links

Happy Wombat Friday! This week marked the 101st death of Jane Morris. Kirsty Stonell Walker has a gorgeous post on John Collier. Via Cumbria Live:  Teenagers bring the poetry of Christina Rossetti to life. The poetry of Christina Rossetti has been reimagined for the stage in The Blood Between Us which will play in the … Read more

Upcoming Exhibit: A Victorian Obsession

Leighton House Museum has announced an upcoming exhibit: A Victorian Obsession (November 2014 – March 2015), which will present fifty exceptional and rarely exhibited paintings by leading Victorian artists including Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, Edward Burne Jones and Lord Leighton himself amongst others. The collection which belong to Mexican collector Juan … Read more

Love, Death and Potted Plants

William Holman Hunt’s Isabella and the Pot of Basil is currently in the news with the recent announcement that the Delaware Art museum will be auctioning the painting tomorrow.  The work has been in their collection since 1947 and it is sad news indeed that the Delaware has to sell it and three other works … Read more

Lizzie Siddal: A New Play by Jeremy Green

Copperhead Productions and Peter Huntley Productions present THE WORLD PREMIERE OF LIZZIE SIDDAL A NEW PLAY BY JEREMY GREEN AT THE ARCOLA THEATRE from Wednesday 20 November – Saturday 21 December 2013 The Victorian art world. ‘To yearn for something – doesn’t that make life more intense?’ Lizzie Siddal, a new play about the woman … Read more

Celebrate Burne-Jones’ 180th Birthday at the Lady Lever Art Gallery

Wednesday. August 28th, will be Edward Burne-Jones’ 180th birthday.  To celebrate, visitors to the Lady Lever Art Gallery will be treated to a giant birthday cake. The cake will feature ‘Angel playing a Flageolet’, a classic example of Burne-Jones’ work from National Museums Liverpool’s Pre-Raphaelite collection. More details here…

Les Editions du Faune

Recently I did an interview with a beautiful French online magazine, Les Editions du Faune.    While it is a French publication, they have published it in both English and French, so there’s no need to use your browser to translate.  It was great fun, a lovely interview, and I’m grateful to Fanny Se for … Read more

Help The Lady of Shalott film be released online for free

The Lady of Shalott film is one of the most beautiful projects I have ever seen.  On an aesthetic level, it encompasses everything I love:  diligence to history and craftsmanship, the poetry of Tennyson, and a lush, cinematic quality that allows you to briefly be cocooned into the medieval world of Elaine of Astolat.  On … Read more

A discussion of Pre-Raphaelite women on BBC Radio 4

Women’s Hour visits the Pre-Raphaelite exhibit at the Tate to discuss the female Pre-Raphaelite artists.  I am pleased with the the attention paid to Elizabeth Siddal. In particular, her illustration of The Lady of Shalott is given a nice bit of attention.  They also talk about Rosa Brett, Jane Burden Morris and May Morris.  You can … Read more