← The Archive
Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Ophelia

John Everett Millais

A Pre-Raphaelite landscape of forensic botanical accuracy, painted from life over four months on the Hogsmill River.

Artist
John Everett Millais
Date
1851–1852
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
76.2 × 111.8 cm
Location
Tate Britain, London

History

What the record shows

Millais painted the river setting outdoors, then posed Elizabeth Siddal in a bath of water heated by lamps.

Tate lends the painting regularly but requires low light levels; several of the pigments are fugitive under sustained exposure.

Provenance

Chain of ownership

  1. 01Henry Farrer, London, 1852
  2. 02B. G. Windus collection
  3. 03Sir Henry Tate, presented to the nation, 1894

Before your next move, talk to us.