J.W. Waterhouse, in statue form

Every now and then, I peruse ebay to try to find non-print, unique Pre-Raphaelite items. Tonight I discovered a gorgeous find.

This ebay seller has two of J.W. Waterhouse's artworks available in statue form. And they are, in my opinion, beautiful. I'm especially tempted to purchase the Lamia statue. I wonder where I could find room for it in our small apartment...

(The Danaides is lovely, though the picky part of me feels the mythic purpose of the vessel is defeated without the water pouring back out of the gargoyle's mouth)

More wonderful images of William Morris

William Morris, the school boy, doodled in one of his textbooks. The sign being held by the man says "W. Morris, His Horace." Note also the steeple drawing.
A note identifies this page of sketches to have been done by Morris during a committee meeting. That restless man could never stop his brilliant mind.
This rather pointed drawing was done after Morris changed the name and ownership of the company from "Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co." to the simple "Morris & Co." Zooming in, you can see the dejected lost members of the legacy sitting with a sign that says "we are starving", a cupola above them torn to simply say "___ & Co."

A page of doodles done by Morris:I especially love the stained glass cartoon on the left:



I still have a few more delightful images to share with you from this marvelous book!

V for Vendetta

Blast...I should have done this post about 4 days ago (remember, remember, the 5th of November).

Just another Pre-Raphaelite art sighting. Apparently V has wonderful taste in paintings...among the ones he "rescues" for his underground lair is one that should look very familiar:

(click to see larger)

I noticed this when we first saw the movie in theaters, but kept forgetting to screen cap it and share here.

Baba Studio Prague

We interrupt this blog to recommend a vendor. Etsy seller Baba Studio Prague has absolutely gorgeous bags, from tarot deck-size to messenger bag size, with gorgeous printed artworks.

I've appreciated their work for a while, but I especially appreciate that they're starting to slowly phase in some Pre-Raphaelite artists as well as their standard Golden Age fairy tale illustrators and Mucha.

William Morris biography

I've found a William Morris biography that's just chock full of all kinds of wonderful Burne-Jones cartoons and other rare drawings. I thought I'd share a few today.



These next two were totally new to me, and I love them!
I wish I could read the text on the below image, or figure out exactly what it is. I suspect it's Topsy accusing the maid of faulty seamstress work, since his seams have ripped.





There are several more, but I'll have to do another post with them!

A New Game

I thought it might be fun to occasionally play a game on this blog called "who can identify the familiar inspiration artwork for this?"

Today we got in the book Chalice by Robin McKinley at the library. I thought the cover art was very Pre-Raphaelite-looking, but it wasn't until I was looking at the art again a few hours later that I noticed what the inspiration artwork was.

Can you name it? Let's see who can guess right first.

Boston is for Lovers (of the Pre-Raphaelites)

One more wedding related post, and then it's back to business as usual, I promise :)

Tom and I honeymooned to coastal Massachusetts. Specifically, we stayed in a castle B&B in Marblehead. The castle was built in the early 20th century as a reproduction of Erik the Red's castle. It overlooked a beautiful park and Marblehead harbor, and honestly, I can't imagine a more Pre-Raphaelite, romantic spot in the entire U.S.

The original plan was to spend a day or two around Salem, and also to go into Boston to visit the Fogg Museum, where there are several Burne-Jones artworks, and also perhaps the MFA in Boston as well as the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum. Sadly, none of that worked out. I was devastated to discover that the artwork I most wanted to see at the Fogg, Burne-Jones Depths of the Sea (my favorite artwork by him) is currently out of the public eye while the Fogg is under renovation work. I was so upset when I heard this, I had to express it in picture form:

One Pre-Raphaelite related event going on that I wish I had been able to catch while we were in Boston, however, was the Imperishable Beauty exhibit at the MFA. The exhibit features Art Nouveau jewelry, but apparently also features Rossetti's Bocca Baciata. So if you happen to be in the Boston area, you might want to check it out!