The Art Studies of Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal
"Her verses were as simple and moving as ancient ballads; her drawings were as genuine in their medieval spirit as much more highly finished and competent works of Pre-Raphaelite art."
WILLIAM GAUNT
Though Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal, also known as Lizzie Siddal, is often remembered for her tragic (e.g. sitting for Millais’ Ophelia) and triumphant stories (e.g. again, sitting for Millais’ Ophelia) as both Pre-Raphaelite muse and poet, today the focus will be on her remarkable artistic talent, which began long before her introduction to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1850.
Siddal was first introduced to members of the Brotherhood through the artist Walter Deverell, whom she possibly knew through dressmaking work for the Deverell family. Art historian and Pre-Raphaelite expert Jan Marsh noted in the Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood catalog of 2019 that there is strong evidence Siddal intended to pursue her art prior to her involvement with the Pre-Raphaelites, taking the initiative to showcase her work to Walter Deverell’s father, who held a significant position at the Government School of Design (Delaware Art Museum, 2020).
“Siddal was for so long considered as either ‘just a model’ or as a ‘derivative artist’, who simply followed the male pre-Raphaelites, . . .This is so inaccurate.”
