Model and Art Figure. At age 19, was working in a hat shop in London's Piccadilly, when she was spotted by Walter Deverall, a member of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement. He introduced her to his fellow artists including John Everett Millais, Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rosetti. With her full lips, and long auburn hair she epitomised the Pre-Raphelites concept of female beauty. She posed for a number of pictures, the most notable being "Ophelia" by Millais, which hangs in the Tate Britain gallery in London. She posed for this picture, lying in a bath of water heated by candles and oil lamps. As a result she contracted pneumonia, weakening an already delicate constitution. She and Dante Gabriel became lovers and lived together as man and wife for some years. In 1860 they eventually married, but her husband's pursuit of other women quickly undermined the relationship. In 1862 she died of an overdose of laudanum, probably administered accidentally. As a final gesture before her burial Dante-Gabriel placed a book of unpublished poems in her coffin. Seven years later, under great pressure from his agent to boost a failing reputation, he had his wife's body exhumed and the poems were removed and published. They were not a success and it was said this act haunted Rossetti for the rest of his life.
Model and Art Figure. At age 19, was working in a hat shop in London's Piccadilly, when she was spotted by Walter Deverall, a member of the Pre-Raphaelite art movement. He introduced her to his fellow artists including John Everett Millais, Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rosetti. With her full lips, and long auburn hair she epitomised the Pre-Raphelites concept of female beauty. She posed for a number of pictures, the most notable being "Ophelia" by Millais, which hangs in the Tate Britain gallery in London. She posed for this picture, lying in a bath of water heated by candles and oil lamps. As a result she contracted pneumonia, weakening an already delicate constitution. She and Dante Gabriel became lovers and lived together as man and wife for some years. In 1860 they eventually married, but her husband's pursuit of other women quickly undermined the relationship. In 1862 she died of an overdose of laudanum, probably administered accidentally. As a final gesture before her burial Dante-Gabriel placed a book of unpublished poems in her coffin. Seven years later, under great pressure from his agent to boost a failing reputation, he had his wife's body exhumed and the poems were removed and published. They were not a success and it was said this act haunted Rossetti for the rest of his life.
Bio by: Find a Grave
Inscription
ALSO TO THE MEMORY OF / ELIZABETH ELEANOR / WIFE OF THEIR ELDER SON / DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI / WHO DIED FEBRUARY 11th 1862 / AGED 30 YEARS / ALSO OF CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI, / DAUGHTER OF / GABRIELE AND FRANCES ROSSETTI.
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