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Historical Artist - Ford Madox Brown (1821 - 1893)
Ford Madox Brown was born in Calais and first studies with Wappers in Antwerp. In 1840, he
moved to Paris and then moved again to London in 1844. In 1848, he encountered Rossetti and the
other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He never officially joined their circle but
shared many of the same ideas of the group. In 1861, he helped found William Morris’s
decorative arts company and assisted in the design of stained glass and furniture. In 1865, he
held a solo exhibition in London. Because of his difficult personality, Brown often had trouble
selling his work. However, he was commissioned for a series of painting for the Manchester Town
Hall in 1878, which occupied him until his death in 1893. One of his most famous images is The
Last of England, a portrait of a pair of stricken emigrants as they sail away on the ship that
will take them from England forever. It was inspired by the departure of the Pre-Raphaelite
sculptor Thomas Woolner, who had left for Australia. The painting is structured with Brown's
characteristic linear energy, and emphasis on apparently grotesque and banal details, such as
the cabbages hanging from the ship's side.
Contemporary United Kingdom Artists
Art Galleries in the United Kingdom
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