Some Pre-Raphaelite Images by Women Artists

The two images below fit what might commonly be thought of as Pre-Raphaelite subjects.  Spartali had primary care for 2 children and four stepchildren but still exhibited widely and painted every day of her life until her death at age 84.  Pickering was born to a wealthy family and yet many of her works disdain materialism, which is unusual for one of her class.   Furthermore, her devotion to art is exemplary: her drawing master was instructed to inform her of her "talentlessness" so that she might turn her mind to marriage instead, but she persevered, hiding her sketching materials in a false-bottomed bag when she left her home.

Marie Spartali Love's Messenger (1885)   Evelyn Pickering The Love Potion (1903)

Evelyn Pickering The Red Cross (1918)          Anna M. Howitt Elizabeth Siddal (1854)

Anna Howitt's time of productivity, close ties to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and desire to produce innovative paintings make her the best candidate for a "female Pre-Raphaelite."  Her talent for drawing was noticed by her family by age 12, and she painted until the age of 31 when harsh condemnation of one of her paintings by John Ruskin (as well as perhaps concern about her health) caused her to give up public presentations of her art completely.  By the time she died at age 56, her obituaries said nothing about her artistic accomplishments. 

These images have been reproduced without permission and are merely posted temporarily as a teaching tool.  All images & information have been selected from Women Artists and the Pre-Raphaelite Movement by Jan Marsh and Pamela Gerrish Nunn.  London: Virago Press, 1989.

bzare@uwyo.edu