When the NPG’s
Pre-Raphaelite Sisters exhibition was first projected, my aim was to include images
of later models and actors whose features and presentation evoked some aspects
of the original movement - partly because
many of the nineteenth century images have a distinctly modern or
contemporary look, and partly because of the loosely comparable social
trajectories that begin with modelling.
In the course of creating
the exhibition, this aspect was necessarily dropped; one may feel there are already
too many exhibits and labels. So I was
delighted when last week, two present-day representatives of the theme took
part in events associated with Pre-Raphaelite Sisters at the NPG. Both have portraits in the Gallery collection.
Lily Cole, who has
the same translucent skin and delicate features as Elizabeth Siddal, as well as
Siddal’s tall and slim figure, and recently acted in that role for the BBC
Radio3 programme Unearthing Elizabeth Siddal, came to film a personal introduction
to the exhibition for the Art Fund. I will
post a link when it is published.
Then singer-songwriter
Florence Welch took part in a conversation with photographer Tom Beard, ranging
widely over their shared experiences and the visual links between the aesthetic
adopted by Florence in life and art and that of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, with some acute observations about both contemporary
and historical imagery. Plus neatly
juxtaposed pictures from the exhibition and Florence’s albums.
It was a triumphant evening, enhanced by the
enthusiastic audience of Florence followers and lookalikes. No Photography allowed but the above picture shows their heroine with Tom
Beard’s triple-mirrored photo recently acquired by the NPG. Which chimes well
with the picture of Fanny Cornforth posing against a cheval mirror in the garden
of Rossetti’s home in Cheyne Walk, in 1863.
