The sad, wealthy Victorian women of English artist George Frederic Watts (1817-1904)

George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Alice Ellen Terry


George Frederick Watts created both portraits & symbolist paintings. He intended that his symbolist paintings would form part of an epic symbolic cycle called the "House of Life," in which the emotions & aspirations of life would all be represented in a universal symbolic language. He also painted portraits, such as these, of the most powerful & wealthy English men & women of the era, intended to form a "House of Fame." In his portraits Watts sought to create a tension between disciplined stability & the power of action. He was known for emphasising the signs of strain & wear on his privileged sitter's faces. Oh, the oppressive burden of power & wealth...


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Julia Margaret Cameron


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Dorothy Tennant Later Lady Stanley


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Choosing


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Lilian MacIntosh


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Eveleen Tennant (Mrs F W H Myers)


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Mrs Arthur Sassoon


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Portrait of a Lady


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Josephine Elizabeth Gray Butler

George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Violet Lindsay


George Frederic Watts (English artist, 1817-1904) Self Portrait 1834