A Pre-Raphaelite Marriage: The Lives and Works of Marie Spartali Stillman & W [Hardcover]

David B. Elliot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2007

As occasional model for Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones, Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927) remains a well-known face of the Pre-Raphaelite era. William James Stillman (1828-1901) founded and edited The Crayon , the first successful American fine art journal. Stillman painted with members of the Hudson River school and was a pioneering and creative photographer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The grandson of Charles Fairfax Murray, David B. Elliott was educated at Marlborough College, Oxford, where he read Humanities. He went on to serve in Military Intelliegence in Austria as an analyst and cryptographer. Following army service, he made a successful career in communications and marketing. David has written and lectured extensively on the subject of the Pre-Raphaelites and is the author of The Unknown Pre-Raphaelite: Charles Fairfax Murray published in 2000. He is a member of the National Gallery History Group, a Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Antique Collectors Club Dist (January 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851494952
• ISBN-13: 978-1851494958
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well detailed story of the marriage of Marie Spartali Stillman and William J. Stillman, May 25, 2009

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Pre-Raphaelite Marriage: The Lives and Works of Marie Spartali Stillman & W (Hardcover)

This is a well detailed telling of the improbable marriage between Marie Spartali and William J. Stillman. From my reading of this book, William Stillman was self-absorbed, overly rigid, and willing to take moral stands when they would damage him most. He would turn his back on friends, carry out vendettas against some who had once been friends. As a diplomat, he would abandon his duty as an agent of American government and do what he thought best. In one case, he actually took sides in a conflict, when--as a diplomat--he should have been clearing his actions with the State Department (he did not get along very well with William Seward, the Secretary of State during one of his diplomatic assignments). Stillman dabbled with painting (but never made the commitment needed), photography, diplomacy, and journalism.

The fact that he married a wonderfully talented woman, who was considered quite desirable in her day, is almost a mystery as one reads this book. What did she see in him? Marie's father was opposed to the marriage; Marie's friends were doubtful about the wisdom of her marrying Stillman. Indeed, Stillman sometimes feuded with Marie's friends. Marie Spartali was the daughter of a well off family. She was very talented and did things that women of her time weren't expected to do. She was a fine artist (I am not an expert, but I found her paintings to be pretty impressive). She was a model for some of the finer painters of her era (some of whom were from the pre-Raphaelite ranks).

This work is a good study of how Marie's and William's lives came together, how their life together unfolded, and the many challenges that they faced (some of which were self-induced by William's actions). The portrayal of Marie and William, his children from an earlier marriage and the progeny from their own marriage is richly told. I do not have enough knowledge of the two main characters of this study or the context in which they worked to judge how accurate or insightful this volume is. But for those who are curious about this odd couple and the context within which their lives unfolded, this looks to me to be a good work.