Evelyn De Morgan

Magazine Antiques, March, 2005 by Miriam Kramer

Evelyn De Morgan (nee Pickering) was born in 1855 and was among the first women to study at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, where she won a number of prizes. She then worked and studied in Italy and, on her return to Britain, established her own studio in London. In 1887 she married William De Morgan, a potter, painter, designer, and novelist. They settled and worked together in London.

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Evelyn De Morgan's inspiration came from the Italian Renaissance, particularly the work of Sandro Botticelli. Her figures of women have a dreamlike quality that is reminiscent of the Italian painter and of her contemporaries, the Pre-Raphaelites. Her subjects were largely literary and included scenes from the Bible, classical mythology, and medieval and contemporary poetry. She was successful, and her income helped to subsidize her husband's less profitable pottery business. Her work was exhibited at the trendy Grosvenor and New Galleries as well as at the Fine Art Society in London.

The largest collection of De Morgan's paintings and drawings belongs to the De Morgan Foundation, which was established in the 1930s in London to house works by both De Morgans. The De Morgan Centre for the Study of 19th Century Art and Society is the site of the exhibition entitled Extremities! Studies of Hands and Feet by Evelyn De Morgan, of which the curator is Claire Longworth. It highlights the figure studies, mostly hands and feet, Evelyn De Morgan drew in preparation for her oil paintings and remains on view until March 30. There is no accompanying publication.

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