#Victorian Era

Fashion

The Inked Ladies—Tattooed Women of the Victorian Era

Would it surprise you to learn that 59% of American women have at least one tattoo? That’s compared to 41% of American men. Perhaps unsurprising is...

Lauren Kraut 17 July 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Roses of Heliogabalus by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth. Three of the Seven Deadly Sins are depicted in Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s The Roses of Heliogabalus. Many other sins are...

James W Singer 12 July 2026

Love Story

Flaming June or Dorothy Dene? A Muse of Frederic Leighton

In 1879, Frederic Leighton’s biographer and neighbor (that’s handy, isn’t it?), Mrs. Barrington, noticed “a young girl with a lovely white...

Magda Michalska 3 July 2026

Artist Stories

Whistler in 10 Works: The Poetry of Sight

James Abbott McNeill Whistler can sometimes appear as insubstantial and vague as one of his Nocturnes. He flits across the late 19th-century art...

Catriona Miller 25 June 2026

Herstory

The Victorians on Sex, Syphilis, and Shame

Explore the stigma of syphilis in Victorian art and society. Science was advancing in this transformative era, but societal attitudes lagged behind. How did the art world respond?

Candy Bedworth 15 June 2026

JMW Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed, 1844, National Gallery, London, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Rain, Steam and Speed by J. M. W. Turner

J. M, W, Turner’s Rain, Steam, and Speed is a masterpiece of Victorian Romanticism infused with hopes, fears, and reminisces. It catapults the...

James W Singer 10 June 2026

JMW Turner, Fighting Temeraire, 1839, National Gallery, London, UK. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Fighting Temeraire by J. M. W. Turner

Fighting Temeraire by British Romantic painter J. M. W. Turner is a seascape that expresses poetic and patriotic...

James W Singer 10 June 2026

Review

Sophia, Bamba, and Catherine: The Last Princesses of Punjab

A new exhibition at Kensington Palace, London, The Last Princesses of Punjab, is shedding light on the fascinating lives of three remarkable...

Edoardo Cesarino 4 June 2026

John F. Francis, Dessert, 1872, Godel & Co., Bedford, NY, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Dessert by John F. Francis

The Dessert by John F. Francis is a masterpiece of still-life painting. Its colorful and elaborate composition reflects 19th-century American and...

James W Singer 28 May 2026

Neoclassicism

Story of Circe According to John William Waterhouse

Circe is one of the fascinating characters in Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey. Due to her complex and unconventional nature, many painters throughout...

Erol Degirmenci 27 May 2026

may-morris-embroidered-hanging-pomegranate Artist Stories

May Morris: A Remarkable Arts & Crafts Woman

May Morris (1862–1938) once described herself as a “remarkable woman… though none of you seemed to think so.” These words proved painfully...

Emily Snow 22 May 2026

John Everett Millais, Mariana, 1851, Tate Britain, London, UK. Literature

Literature in the Pre-Raphaelite Paintings

From its very inception, subjects taken from the literature were a staple for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Shakespeare, Keats, and Tennyson were...

Anastasia Manioudaki 12 May 2026