George Frederick Watts

Born: London, 23 February 1817

Died: Compton, Surrey, 1 July 1904

Nationality: English


Works by this Artist

Irish Famine
George Frederick Watts, 1850

Studies

with William Behnes; Royal Academy (RA) Schools (1835)

Career

1837 – exhibits The Wounded Heron (Watts Gallery, Compton) at the RA

1843 – wins £300 prize in the Westminster Hall Competition allowing Watts to travel to Florence; remains in Florence under patronage of Lady Holland

1864 – marries actress Ellen Terry; the couple separate the following year

1867 – elected member of RA

1870-80s – works on uncompleted allegorical cycle called “House of Life”

1897 – gives eighteen paintings to the Tate

Travels

Florence (1843-47; 1853)

Commissions from

Alexander Constantine Ionides; Lady Mary Augusta Holland

Important Artworks

Self-Portrait, 1864 (Tate, London)

The Minotaur, 1885 (Tate, London)

Hope, 1886 (Tate, London)

Readings

Bhreathnach-Lynch, Sighle. Ireland’s art, Ireland’s History: Representing Ireland, 1845 to present. Omaha, NE: Creighton University Press, 2007

Bills, Mark. G.F. Watts: Victorian Visionary: Highlights from the Watts Gallery Collection. Exhibition catalogue. London and New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008

Gould, Veronica Franklin. G.F. Watts: the Last Great Victorian. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004

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