Sleep is good, books are better
The artist behind both these paintings - John Everett Millais - was a child art prodigy, and in his late teens co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The PRB was founded at his family home in London - [then] 83 Gower Street, Bloomsbury, London. I worked nearby at 82 Gower Street for about 18 months, and many... Continue Reading →
The Victorian sporting calendar in pictures.
Arguably the Victorians invented modern sport, or at least codified it. Inevitably that enthusiasm was reflected in their art. Fishing, hunting, racing and shooting even had their own schools of painters. Going North, King's Cross Station (1893) by George Earl (English artist, lived 1824–1908). National Railway Museum. This painting shows King's Cross Station (think Harry... Continue Reading →
This is a short postscript to the last post, it's not going to be a regular theme. I prefer to focus on the positive, if possible. Another public museum is selling off art to pay the bills. Berkshire Museum in Massachusetts (USA) is selling off 40 of it's most notable paintings, sculptures and drawings -... Continue Reading →
Going, going ... GONE! When is it acceptable to sell public art? It's happening more frequently than you might think. There was a time when I had assumed that once a work of art had been gifted or bought by a public art gallery, there it would stay (apart from loans and special exhibitions). Later... Continue Reading →
Today is the anniversary of the death of Sir David Wilkie (18 November 1785 – 1 June 1841). A Scottish painter. When I think of Wilkie, I immediately think of the The Letter of Introduction. The Letter of Introduction (1813) Readers reading series #11 The painting was completed in the same year that Jane Austen's... Continue Reading →
Emily Dickinson - and the benefits of obscurity to a writer Today is the anniversary of the death of the great American poet, Emily Dickinson (10 Dec 1830 – 15 May 1886). Another author from my 'famous and appreciated … too late' series. All quotes in this post are from Emily's writing, unless mentioned otherwise.... Continue Reading →
Three Sisters of Haworth - a graphic story I have two interests that rarely get reflected on this blog. I collect/sell vintage prints (on a small scale) and I'm a fan of the world of speech bubbles (cartoons and graphic art). So I was delighted when my love of these collided with my love of... Continue Reading →
A topic that I have been interested in for some time is the idea of the doppelgänger. And I’m not the only person to be intrigued by the notion of a mysterious double and what it might mean. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was fascinated by the possibility of the doppelgänger, the seeing of which is... Continue Reading →
The peculiar life & times of Flaming June: "The most wonderful painting in existence". A world renown Pre-Raphaelite piece of art - that will take us from Clapham Common to Puerto Rico, but carefully avoiding Andrew Lloyd Webber's lefty granny.
The Long Victorian 