George Frederic Watts was born in Marylebone, Middlesex, England on February 23, 1817. He was in poor health much of his childhood, and his mother died when he was young, so he was raised and schooled by his father. At the age of ten, he showed artistic aptitude, so he began training with the sculptor William Behnes. When he was 18, he enrolled at the Royal Academy. He closely studied the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, learning much from them.
After winning an art competition, he studied in Florence, Italy from 1843–1847 before returning to London. After having little success in finding a building where he could create a large fresco, he spent most of the rest of his career working in oils. After helping his friend, Henry Thoby Prinsep, obtain a 21-year lease on Little Holland House in Kensington, Watts lived with them for the length of the lease. During that time, he married the actress Ellen Terry (the subject of Choosing, the cover painting of The Bacillus of Beauty) a few days shy of her 17th birthday in 1864. Ten months after the marriage, Terry eloped with another man and Watts requested a divorce. The divorce didn’t take effect until 1877, however.
In 1871, Watts had a new home built in London, and purchased a home near Freshwater on the Isle of Wight near those of his friends, including Alfred, Lord Tennyson. He also had a home built for the Prinseps family nearby. Watts remarried in 1886 to Mary Fraser Tytler—a Scottish designer and potter—and they build a home named Limnerslease near Compton in Surrey.
While married, they worked on a number of projects together, including the Watts Mortuary Chapel in Compton and the Watts Gallery. The latter was the first gallery in England to be built and devoted to a single artist. Today, it is the only such gallery still operating. Watts painted a version of his painting, The All-Pervading, for the chapel, completing it only three months prior to his death.
Queen Victoria twice offered him the title of Baronet, but he refused both times. Watts was made a member of the Royal Academy in 1867, and he was named one of the original recipients of the new Order of Merit. The latter was awarded to him by King Edward VII at a ceremony on August 8, 1902.
Watts died in London on July 1, 1904, at the age of 87.
Hemelein Publications works:
- Cover art for The Bacillus of Beauty
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