Pre-Raphaelite Girl Gang: Fifty Makers, Shakers and Heartbreakers from the Victorian Era

Pre-Raphaelite Girl Gang: Fifty Makers, Shakers and Heartbreakers from the Victorian Era by Walker, Kirsty Stonell. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781911604631.

We mostly know the women of the Pre-Raphaelite movement through their appearances in paintings: long-haired beauties with sad eyes who simultaneously seem historical and contemporary. But women played a much bigger role in the movement than that, as Pre-Raphaelite Girl Gang shows. Telling the stories of fifty women—duchesses to laundresses—who were involved with the Pre-Raphaelites, this book brings together stunning illustrations and little known stories to rewrite the history of an artistic movement that has held its popularity for more than a century. From models to artists, these women all contributed something personal and incredible towards the most beautiful and imaginative art movement in the world. Redefining what it meant to be attractive and influential in a male-dominated world, they broke new ground in art, business, and women’s rights. In these pages we learn more about faces long familiar from classic paintings, but we also meet women who worked behind the scenes. Together, these portraits recast our understanding of the Pre-Raphaelites and reveal an enchanting, revolutionary band of women who remain unlikely and compelling role models today.