Information
The Seed of David was a large triptych commissioned by Llandaff Cathedral for a reredos (decorative screen). William Morris sat for the character of King David, and this study is a striking early portrait of him, aged 27. His appearance was described by his biographer J. W. Mackail:'His hair remained through life of extraordinary beauty, very thick, fine and strong ... his general appearance at this time [showed] the massive head, the slightly knitted brow, the narrow eye-slits and heavy underlids, the delicately beautiful mouth and chin only half-veiled by the slight beard.'
- Purchased and presented by subscribers, 1903.
- © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
Makers
Association |
Artist |
Organisation |
Artist |
Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
- |
Exhibitions
Catalogue No. |
Venue |
Date(s) |
William Morris Centenary |
331 |
Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
1934 - 1934 |
|
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood |
226 |
City Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham |
1947-06-07 - 1947-07-27 |
|
Ruskin and his Circle |
262 |
Arts Council of Great Britain, London |
1964 - 1964 |
|
Morris & Company in Cambridge |
7 |
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
1980-09-30 - 1980-11-16 |
|
William Morris and Kelmscott |
8 |
West Surrey College, Farnham |
1981-11 - 1981-12 |
|
William Morris Today |
no cat no |
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London |
1984-03-01 - 1984-04-29 |
|
Exhibition Marking 175th Anniversary of St. Martin-on-the-Hill - Bodley, Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites |
60 |
Scarborough Art Gallery |
1988-08-20 - 1988-10-01 |
|
Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
132 |
Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo |
1990-09-22 - 1990-11-14 |
132 |
Aichi Prefectural Art Gallery, Nagoya |
- - 1990-12-09 |
132 |
Ishibashi Museum of Art, Kurume |
1991-01-08 - 1991-02-14 |
|
Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection, England |
55 |
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington |
1995-03-09 - 1995-05-07 |
55 |
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio |
1995-05-27 - 1995-07-16 |
55 |
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington |
1995-08-11 - 1995-10-15 |
55 |
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas |
- - 1996-01-02 |
55 |
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia |
1996-01-23 - 1996-04-10 |
55 |
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery |
1996-05-25 - 1996-09-29 |
|
William Morris |
A12 |
Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
1996-05-09 - 1996-09-01 |
|
Simply Stunning |
- |
Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum |
1996-06-15 - 1996-08-31 |
- |
Burton Art Gallery, Bideford |
1996-09-07 - 1996-10-18 |
- |
Cartwright Hall, Bradford |
1996-11-02 - 1996-10-18 |
|
Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
66 |
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool |
2003-10-16 - 2004-01-18 |
66 |
Van Gogh Museum |
2004-02-27 - 2004-06-06 |
66 |
V & A, London |
08/05/1996 - 01/09/1996 |
66 |
I. C. A. Gallery |
01/03/1984 - 29/04/1984 |
66 |
USA- 5 venues touring |
1995 - 1996 |
|
Literature
Author(s) |
Date(s) |
Publisher |
Pages |
'William Morris Designer' |
G H Crow |
Winter, 1934. |
Studio |
p. 27. |
|
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of Drawings |
A E Whitley |
1939 |
Bemrose & Sons, Ltd., Derby |
p. 324. |
|
Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828-1882, The Paintings and Drawings: A Catalogue Raisonne |
Virginia Surtees |
1971 |
Oxford University Press, London |
vol. 1, no. 105J, p. 60; vol. 2. pl. 144. |
|
Pre-Raphaelite Drawings: Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
Andrea Rose |
1977 |
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London |
no. 1D9. |
|
Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection, England. |
Stephen Wildman |
1995 |
Arts Services International, Alexandria, Virginia |
pp. 192-93. |
|
Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
Edwin Becker, Elizabeth Prettejohn, Julian Treuherz |
2003 |
Waanders, Zwolle |
pp. 170-71. |
Provenance
William Michael Rossetti, Charles Fairfax Murray |
Associated people
Associated places
Name |
Type |
Llandaff Cathedral |
- |
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