Lucy Madox Brown 1843 – 1894

(Emma) Lucy Madox Brown Rossetti

Painter, biographer, feminist.

19 July 1843 – 12 April 1894

Portrait of Lucy Madox Brown Rossetti, the artist’s sister-in-law 1874 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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’.

The Duet 1870 Lucy Madox Brown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1871 Romeo at the Tomb of Juliet drew acclaim.

Romeo and Juliet, The Thombscene Lucy Madox Brown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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.

Mathilde Blin Lucy Madox Brown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1890 Biography Mary Shelley for Eminent Women series.

Further reading:

Rossetti, (Emma) Lucy Madox Brown (1843–1894), painter and biographer | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (oxforddnb.com)

Lucy Madox Brown – Wikipedia