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

Description

Tapping into the Rebel Girl and Bad Girl publishing trend, this is the first book to cover the female role within art A fabulous introduction to the Pre-Raphaelite movement, through the muses and artists that helped shape the era Kirsty Stonell Walker has a large following for her blog, The Kissed Mouth (20,000 people) - with readers in the UK and the US Major exhibitions of Pre-Raphaelite Art are set to take place in Autumn 2018: Burne-Jones at Tate Britain and Christina Rossetti at the Watts Gallery, Compton Published to coincide with World Pre-Raphaelite Day on 16th September 2018

It was while studying for her first degree that Kirsty Stonell Walker became immersed in the life and loves of the Pre-Raphaelites. The plight of 'bad girl' Fanny Cornforth fascinated her so much that she spent a decade researching her life and wrote her biography Stunner: The Fall and Rise of Fanny Cornforth. Since 2011, she has written a blog, The Kissed Mouth, where she publishes original research on the many models of the Pre-Raphaelites. She has also written two novels about Victorian artists as well as giving talks to art groups and museums on her subject. Kingsley Nebechi is an Italian born, British raised illustrator. His work is inspired by his love for patterns, comics and fashion. Kingsley's artwork has been featured on book covers, ad campaigns, product packaging and animation. Kingsley was also included in Buzzfeed's 34 British Young Black Artists You Should Pay Attention to last October.

"This lavishly illustrated book honours 50 unconventional women of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. . . . It is an excellent, inspirational read."-- "The Lady" "Telling the stories of 50 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 redefined what it meant to be attractive and influential in a male-dominated world; they broke new ground in art, business, and women's rights. This enchanting, revolutionary band of women remain unlikely and compelling role models today."-- "Publishers Weekly" "This brightly coloured hardback contains a confection of research, playfulness and theatre. The lives of fifty women are described and examined and offered to the reader sometimes with a valuation and frequently in a way that encourages one. These are like theatrical vignettes. . . . This is a book that you can read all the way through or dip into. . . . It is also a book that you can confidently give as a gift. It can appeal to anyone with imagination and a sense of humour and an interest in art, whatever their prior knowledge. It is thoroughly illustrated with the relevant portraits of the characters and the other paintings in which they appear: as the muse, the principal character, the adored one, or a player in the scene. Alongside of these are interesting contemporary portraits of each of the women by the artist Kingsley Nebechi. This book is a celebratory claim for the spotlight that has so lit up the 'Brotherhood' to be shared by the sisters: models, muses, wives, lovers, and in many cases, though often downplayed or hidden, fine artists."-- "Talisman Fine Art"