Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-06
MILLAIs' MODELS.
Some of the Persons Whose Faces the
Artist ImmortaIzed.

My little chat about Millais reminds
me that I have, lying beside me, the
proof of a very charming article on "The
Women Of Millais' Pictures" that has
just been sent in for me to review.
Among other interesting things, the
writer of the article reminds us that in
future times Sir John Millais' memory
will be specially remarkable for the fact
that he, like GainSmorough, Romey and
Joshua Reynolds will be widely known
for the types of fashionable beauty that
he has made famous His models We're
seldom drawn from the professional"
classes, but rather from those people
belonging to his immediate surround
ings. Many members of his own family
served as the originals of some of his
best known work. For instance, three
of his own sisters were models for those
exquisite yelled figures immortalized in
1.-THE Vale of Rest"
''The late Lady Millais" q quote from
the proof sheets before me) "sat for sew
eral of her husbands most popular pic
lures. She is the wife in The Order of
Release and although in this instance
the face is by no means a faithful pro-
trait, yet in the eloquent and SYM
pathetic face of the Highland woman it
is possible to recognize the familiar fea-
lures of the artists wife. The White
Cockade,' the picture of 1862, is another
canvas in which Lady Millais played
the role of model; and the faces of the
long-robed angels in the Gothic Win
dow are studies from the same lady.
Lady Millais is the heroine of that
misunderstanding picture, The Gam
bler's Wife, and in several others we
find some traces of her personality Sir
i. 1t
ing daughters, who served him in good
stead as models-indeed, either ind.vid-
ually or collectively, they are replicated
in a number of their fathers most fam
Gus efforts. Mrs. Stuart -Wortley's love-
ly cherubic face greets us in that life
like study, Awake and Miss Mary Hol-
man Hunt Millai' is in the companion
picture, Asleep The elder sister, Mrs
James. whose own boy is the ever
popular Bubbles is the sweet little
maid who kept guard over 'New-Laid
Eggs; and she is also the demure young
church goer who sat through Her First
Sermon and the quaint dancer in The
Minuet.' Miss Sophie Millais, after
ward Mrs. MacEwen, is the sad
Princess Elizabeth in st. James Pal
ace; and for Forbidden Fruit the artist
chose this youngest sister as the
heroine. All four sisters are represented
The Sister That exquisite tableau,
The Grey Lady brings Mrs. Stuart
Wortley before us in her maturer years,
Sir John having painted the background
of this originally for The Little Princess
in the Tower z
OF wide interest to all admirers of the
artists work are the twin pictures of
THE Huguenot" and "The Black Bruns-
wicker" and it is pleasant to know that
the sympathetic Teutonic maiden in the
last named is no other than Miss Kate
Dickens now Mrs. Peruglni, the we'll
known artisD, the youngest daughter of
Charles Dickens. The stalwart Bruns-
wicker was a private in the guards, and
Mrs. Perugini often amuses her friends
by telling the story of those sittings
Her father chaffed her about the atti-
tude she was made to assume in the pic
ture but she was able to refute this
teasing by explaining that after Millais
had finished her face and figure, the
dress she wore was put on an ordinary
professional model, and the posing with
the guardsman began. ''The Angel in
the House" was one of Sir Johns
favorite works. He was very intimate
with both Mr.. Coventry Patmore and
his wife Miss Emily Andrews of Wal
worth). Mrs. Coventry Patmore sat for
the picture, her husband often paying a
visit to the studio to see how the work
progressed
"Ophelia," exhibited the same year as
"The Huguenot," for which Miss Ryan
posed as the girl and Gen. Lempriere as
the Huguenot, is often styled the art
lists most perfect and most poetic paint
ing Shakspere's ill-fated creation being
realistically impersonated by Miss Sid
dali (Mrs. Gabriel Rossetti). A friend
who was present in the studio while this
canvas was in progress says that Mil
lais remarked: Il never paint anything
from Imagination, which would not be
true to life, but I paint from what I
actually see. Look at this huge tub full
Of water with the floating flowers; Miss
Siddall has to hold these in her hand
under the water in order that may see