Tennyson's Dora - Study of Mary, Child and Dora comforting their Father/Grandfather
1855 – 1856
Accession number: 1906P647
Watercolour over pencil on paper (arched design).
Width: 153 mm
Height: 135 mm
Information
This drawing was engraved by John Thompson for the Moxon edition of Tennyson's poems (1857, p. 219). In the poem, the heroine's cousin William refuses his father's wishes for him to marry Dora. Instead, he weds a labourer's daughter, Mary, who bears him a son. Only after William's death is Dora able to soften the old man's heart: Millais' design shows her comforting William's father as he is reconciled with his daughter-in-law and grandson. Millais rarely inscribed his preparatory drawings so it was unusual that he both signed and inscribed this particular one. However, Millais donated this drawing to the Manchester Cotton Famine Fund which could explain why he chose to identify himself with this particular piece.
- Purchased and presented by subscribers, 1906.
- © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
Makers
| Association | Artist | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Artist | John Everett Millais | - |
Inscriptions
| Type | Position(s) | Method | Date(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dora (wash) | ||||
| - | bottom centre | Handwritten | - | |
| Dora | ||||
| Title | bottom centre | Handwritten | - | |
Exhibitions
| Catalogue No. | Venue | Date(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artists of Victoria's England | |||
| 38 | Cummer Gallery of Art, Jacksonville, Florida | 1965-02-02 - 1965-03-14 | |
| Tennyson (1809-1892): A Centenary Celebration | |||
| 255 | Dove Cottage, Grasmere (Wordsworth Trust) | 1992-03-01 - 1992-09-01 | |
| 255 | Usher Art Gallery, Lincoln | 1992-03-01 - 1992-09-01 | |
| Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection, England. | |||
| 41 | Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington | 1995-03-09 - 1995-05-07 | |
| 41 | The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio | 1995-05-27 - 1665-07-16 | |
| 41 | Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington | 1995-08-11 - 1995-10-15 | |
| 41 | The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas | 1995-11-04 - 1996-01-02 | |
| 41 | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia | 1996-01-23 - 1996-04-10 | |
| 41 | Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, England | 1996-05-25 - 1996-09-29 | |
| John Everett Millais: Illustrator and Narrator | |||
| 10 | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | 2004-10-16 - 2005-01-16 | |
| 10 | Leighton House, London | 2005-02-18 - 2005-04-29 | |
Literature
| Author(s) | Date(s) | Publisher | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poems [Moxon Tennyson] | |||
| Lord Alfred Tennyson | 1857 | Edward Moxon, London | p. 219. |
| City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of Drawings | |||
| A E Whitley | 1939 | Bemrose & Sons, Ltd, Derby | p. 271. |
| Pre-Raphaelite Drawings | |||
| 1947 | Roland, Browse & Delbanco, London | p. 13 | |
| Tennyson (1809-1892): A Centenary Celebration | |||
| Professor Robert Woof | 1992 | The Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere | cat. no. 255 |
| Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection, England | |||
| Stephen Wildman | 1995 | Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia | p. 160. |
| John Everett Millais: Illustrator and Narrator | |||
| Paul Goldman | 2004 | Lund Humphries, Aldershot | cat. no. 10 / B97 |
Associated people
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| Lord Alfred Tennyson | Author |
Related work & resources
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