Where To See The Best Pre-Raphaelite Art In The UK
In 1848, English artists William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti rejected the establishment’s ideals and founded a revolutionary movement: the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. The best of Pre-Raphaelite art can be found in galleries and institutions across the UK, and we profile ten of the best below.
Tate Britain
Home to almost all of the real Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces, from Millais’ Ophelia to Rossetti’s Annunciation and Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott, Tate Britain displays an extensive treasured collection of this entirely British art. Millais’ Ophelia is one of the most commonly reproduced Pre-Raphaelite works and is the best-selling postcard from the Tate gift shop. Based on Hamlet, this painting was about much more than Shakespeare – it spoke of a new form of art that went “To nature in all singleness of heart… rejecting nothing, selecting nothing, and scorning nothing.” The morbid beauty of this painting and its heavy symbolism is somewhat obscured for modern viewers, but this stunning work with its vibrant colours and tragic theme of wasted youth still touches the hearts of Tate visitors today.
Tate Britain Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG, UK, 020 7887 8888
Birmingham Art Gallery
Art Gallery, Museum
Manchester Art Gallery
Art Gallery, Museum
Walker Art Gallery
Art Gallery, School
Kelmscott Manor
Home of William Morris, and at times, Rossetti, Kelmscott Manor exudes the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic. Containing various works by Rossetti and his own personal paint set, Kelmscott Manor is nevertheless Morris’ domain. One of the most prominent pieces of the collection is his bed. The original bed originally belonged to the Turner family, but was acquired by Morris when he undertook the lease of Kelmscott. His youngest daughter, May embroidered one of his poems on to the pelmet embracing her inherited Pre-Raphaelitism. After his death, May and Jane Morris created an embroidered cover for the bed with ladybirds, kingfishers and caterpillars hidden amongst the formal design. May later went on to promote the status of embroidery and the role of women in art and design.
Victoria & Albert Museum
Museum
The Oxford Union
Library
Buscot Park
Park
The Ashmolean Museum | Oxford
Museum