Lucy Madox Brown 1843 – 1894
(Emma) Lucy Madox Brown Rossetti
Painter, biographer, feminist.
19 July 1843 – 12 April 1894
Education
Milton Lodge, Gravesend.
Tutored by Maria Rossetti.
Some Key Achievements and Interests
1868 Started painting seriously being trained by her father Ford Madox Brown who she assisted.
1869-1872 Exhibited at the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery.
1870 Exhibited The Duet at the Royal Academy, described by Dante Gabriel Rossetti as ‘the perfect picture’.
1871 Romeo at the Tomb of Juliet drew acclaim.
Signed the national petition for women’s suffrage.
Issues
After her mother died when she was 3, lived with her aunt in England in Kent before moving to the Rossetti household.
Resented her father’s new wife and the new family members though she remained close to her father.
Her painting career suffered when she had five children to care for and who she tutored.
Suffered ill health.
Had a ‘temper’ which alienated her from some.
Reputation overshadowed by that of her father Ford Madox Brown.
Connection to Bloomsbury
Lived in Bloomsbury when married.
Female networks
Alice Boyd, Jane Morris, Marie Spartali.
Works include:
1869 Painting.
1870 After the Ball.
1870 The Duet.
1870 The Tomb Scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Act V: sc 3).
1871 Ferdinand and Miranda Playing Chess.
1872 The Magin Mirror.
1872 Portrait of Mathilde Blind.
1890 Biography Mary Shelley for Eminent Women series.
Further reading: