Dante Gabriel Rossetti letter to Ellen Heaton, 1856 November 28?
Scope and Contents
Rossetti tells Heaton that the subjects he is working on for inclusion in a new work by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, are The Palace of Art, Sir Galahad, The Lady of Shalott, Mariana in the South and possibly the Vision of Sin. He describes the drawing of the Palace of Art as being inspired by Tennyson's lines about St. Cecily and says it was commissioned as a watercolor. Rossetti says that if he does not find the repetition too unpleasant, he will produce a duplicate of the work for Heaton but only after he has finished his present work. Rossetti urges Heaton to acquire works by Ford Madox Brown, saying that he has only a few small works left. Rossetti describes Madox Brown's Our Lady of Good Children, a chalk drawing from Beauty and the Beast and a drawing of the Virgin Mary. He provides Heaton with Madox Brown's address and assures Heaton that Brown's work will only increase in value now that "the tide of justice is at last beginning to set in toward [Madox Brown]." Rossetti notes that Madox Brown's Christ Washing Peter's Feet received the Liverpool prize. Rossetti goes on to praise Arthur Hughes, expressing his disappointment that neither he, nor Madox Brown, have been included in the Tennyson work. Rossetti thanks Heaton for her enquiry after the health of Elizabeth Siddall, who is currently in Bath. He states that he would like it if Siddall went to a warmer region for the winter. Rossetti hopes that Siddall and Heaton will one day meet as Siddall "could have no kinder or better friend." Rossetti praises Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh as "almost beyond anything for exhaustless poetic resource" and as possessing the potential to reveal social truths as did Tennyson's Maud. Rossetti expresses his happiness in hearing that Barrett Browning is in better health.
Dates
- 1856 November 28?
Creator
Physical Description
2 folded sheets (4 pages each) : autograph letter signed ; 18 x 23 cm, folded to 18 x 12 cm ; 18 x 23 cm, folded to 18 x 12 cm
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
General
With envelope. Addressed from 14 Chatham Place. Date from Fredeman.
Part of the Yale Center for British Art, Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts
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203-432-2814
ycba.rarebooks@yale.edu
Location
1080 Chapel Street
New Haven , CT 06510