Fanny Eaton
Fanny Eaton | |
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![]() Portrait of Mrs. Fanny Eaton (1859), Walter Fryer Stocks | |
Born | Fanny Antwistle 23 June 1835 |
Died | 4 March 1924 Hammersmith and Fulham,London, England | (aged 88)
Nationality | Jamaican,British |
Occupation(s) | Art model,domestic cook |
Years active | 1859–1867 (art model) |
Known for | Pre-Raphaelitemodel |
Fanny Eaton(23 June 1835 – 4 March 1924) was aJamaican-bornartist's modelanddomestic worker.She is best known as a model for thePre-Raphaelite Brotherhoodand their circle in England between 1859 and 1867. Her public debut was inSimeon Solomon's paintingThe Mother of Moses,which was exhibited at theRoyal Academyin 1860. She was also featured in works byDante Gabriel Rossetti,John Everett Millais,Joanna Mary Boyce,[1]Rebecca Solomon,and others.[2]
Biography
[edit]Early life
[edit]Eaton was bornFanny AntwistleorEntwhistle[3]on 23 June 1835 inSaint Andrew Parish,Jamaica,just ten months following the 1 August 1834 enactment of theabolition of slaverythroughout the British empire. It is speculated that her mother, Matilda Foster, a woman of African descent, was born into slavery on the Elim Estate in St Elizabeth parish, property of the Foster or Forster family.[4]No father was named on Eaton's birth records, suggesting that she may have been illegitimate.[5]The death of a British soldier named James Entwistle, aged twenty, in nearby St Catherine’s parish (burial in Spanish Town on 4 July 1835), eleven days after Fanny's birth, has been seen as suggestive that this soldier may have been Fanny's father.[4]
Eaton and her mother made their way toEnglandsome time in the 1840s. By 1851 she is recorded as living in London, at 9 Steven’s Place, St Pancras, with her mother, and working as a domestic servant. In 1857 she married James Eaton, a horse-cab proprietor and driver, who was born on 17 February 1838 inShoreditch.Together, they had 10 children, born in the years 1858-1879.[4]
Modelling
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Fanny_Eaton%2C_1860_John_Everett_Millais%2C_Pearl_of_the_Sea_%28detail%29.jpg/220px-Fanny_Eaton%2C_1860_John_Everett_Millais%2C_Pearl_of_the_Sea_%28detail%29.jpg)
Early work at the Royal Academy of Arts
[edit]It was during this period of Fanny Eaton's life as mother and new wife that she began modelling, both for theRoyal Academy of ArtsSchool of Painting (where she was paid 5 shillings for each modelling session, with her maximum recorded schedule reaching three sessions in a single day[4]), for thePre-Raphaelites,and for other less well-known artists of the period.
Her distinctive features were used by artists to portray a variety of ethnicities and characters. The earliest studies done of her are a colored sketch byWalter Fryer Stocksand a series of portrait sketches bySimeon Solomonin 1859. These latter sketches were evidently used as preparation for Solomon'sMother of Moses,now in the collection of theDelaware Art Museum.Two specific sketches from this series depicted Eaton as the Biblical figuresJochabedandMiriam.The finished painting was shown at theRoyal Academyin 1860 Exhibition.
Muse for the Pre-Raphaelites
[edit]Simeon Solomon was from a noted family of painters; his sister,Rebecca Solomon,also painted Eaton during this period. Rebecca, who studied withJohn Everett Millais,may have provided Eaton's link to artists in the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, but this is speculation. In 1865,Dante Gabriel Rossettiemployed Eaton to pose for the figure of one of the bridesmaids in his paintingThe Beloved.Rossetti further produced at least one otherportrait sketch(c. 1865, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University).
Eaton also modelled for other artists in the Solomons circle of friends, includingWilliam Blake RichmondandAlbert Joseph Moore.This includes Richmond's paintingThe Slave(1886), found inTate's collection, and recently identified as another artwork in which Eaton worked as the model.[a][6]
Eaton appears in a black chalk drawing by Rossetti, now in the Cantor Arts Centre atStanford Universityin California.[7]
The paintingJephthah(1867) by John Everett Millais shows Eaton standing in the upper right-hand side of the canvas. 1867 is believed to be the latest date at which Eaton was actively working as a model. It is not known why she discontinued this work, whether she decided to quit or if her services in this field were no longer in demand.[8]
Widowhood
[edit]By 1881 Eaton had been widowed and was working as a seamstress. In the final years of her life, Eaton worked as a domestic cook on theIsle of Wightfor aPortsea-based wine merchant and his wife, John and Fanny Hall. By 1911, however, Fanny is said to be residing with family in Hammersmith with her daughter Julia, son-in-law Thomas Powell and grandchildren Baden and Connie Powell. After a long life as a working-class émigrée, Fanny Antwisle Eaton died inActonon 4 March 1924 at the age of 88 fromsenile decay and syncope.She is buried inMargravine Road Cemeteryin Hammersmith.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_-_The_Bride_-_WGA20108.jpg/220px-Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_-_The_Bride_-_WGA20108.jpg)
Legacy
[edit]The first exhibition entirely focused on depictions of black people in British Victorian art,Black Victorians: Black People in British Art 1800-1900,opened inManchesterin 2005. The "mesmerising" Fanny Eaton paintings were accorded a prominent place, with Albert Joseph Moore'sMother of Siseraand Rossetti'sThe Belovedon display. Reviewers responded with a 21st century disquietude to the viewing of these paintings, particularly Rossetti's depiction of Eaton: "she is an object, not a subject." Another critic pointed out that Rossetti's painting, inspired by theSong of Solomon,is "Anglocentric," "the issue is not simply that the dark-skinned attendants are shown in a subservient role: it is that the central figure who Rossetti depicts as white should be black", as the "beloved" in Song of Solomon is described as "black and beautiful".[9]
A Victorian critic, who had written these words in 1867, was quoted, "'A black is eminently picturesque, his colour can be turned to good account in picture-making.'" The prevailing reaction to the exhibition appears to have been alarm at the exploitation that had taken place in Fanny Eaton's times.[10]
These observations complicate Eaton's legacy. Of Eaton's own opinions regarding either her work or legacy, nothing is known. The researches to retrieve her life story were initiated late in the 20th century. Exciting new depictions of the Jamaican-born woman have been uncovered, and catalogued, over the past decades, but Eaton herself is not known to have left letters or writing behind, and there are no known contemporary accounts of her opinions or conversations. Many of her biographies make statements along the following lines: "her decision to model was driven by the need to support her family,"[4]While this seems likely, in actuality, Eaton's motivations remain unknown.[citation needed]
The 2019 Pre-Raphaelite Sisters Exhibition at theNational Portrait Galleryin London marked a further step in Fanny Eaton's legacy. Here, she is described as having, through her marital status, "escaped a crossover role as a lover, though enjoyed some success as a model."[11]As of 2020, Eaton is celebrated for "her position as an artistic muse and Victorian Britain’s most visible woman of colour."[12]
Gallery
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Fanny Eaton, byFrederick Sandys(1860)British Museum | The Young Teacher(1861) Rebecca Solomon |
Mrs. Fanny Eaton(1859) Simeon Solomon |
The Mother of Moses(1860) Simeon Solomon |
Head of a Mulatto Woman [Mrs. Eaton](1859) Joanna Boyce Wells |
The Slave(1886) William Blake Richmond[a] |
Commemoration
[edit]- In 2018, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote,The Voicenewspaper listed Eaton – alongsideKathleen Wrasama,Olive Morris,Connie Mark,Diane Abbott,Lilian Bader,Margaret Busby,andMary Seacole– among eight Black women who have contributed to the development of Britain.[13]
- In October 2019 to January 2020, she was one of 12 women included in thePre-Raphaelite Sistersexhibition at London'sNational Portrait Gallery.[14]
- On 26 April 2020, an art history short about her featured in the programme hosted byBBC Radio 1film criticAli Plumb,[15]Get Animated! Introducing BBC Arts[16]and also on BBC New Creatives website.[17]
- To markBlack History Monthin October 2020,Primamagazine named Eaton as one of six Black British women – together withMargaret Busby,Claudia Jones,Mary Prince,Lilian BaderandOlive Morris– who "changed the world".[18]
- On 15 October 2020, poet Maz Hedgehog performed a poem about Eaton as part of BBC Blue Peter's Black History Month poetry segment.[19]
- On 18 November 2020, she was commemorated with aGoogle Doodle.[20]
- As part of itsBlack History Monthprogramme in October 2022,Queen's Park Community CouncilstagedOut of the Picture,a one-woman show telling the story of Eaton's life. Written by art historian Angela Bolger, who co-directed with the actress Faith Tingle-Bartoli, the show starred actor Samya De Meo and featured digital prints of paintings featuring Eaton which had been licensed by their current owners.[1]
List of Eaton's appearances in artists' work
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Fanny_Eaton%2C_1865c_Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_%28_Iris_%26_B._Gerald_Cantor_Center_for_Visual_Arts_at_Stanford_University%29.jpg/220px-Fanny_Eaton%2C_1865c_Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_%28_Iris_%26_B._Gerald_Cantor_Center_for_Visual_Arts_at_Stanford_University%29.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Fanny_Eaton_as_Morgan_de_la_Fey_%281862_%29Frederick_Sandys%2C_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg/220px-Fanny_Eaton_as_Morgan_de_la_Fey_%281862_%29Frederick_Sandys%2C_Victoria_and_Albert_Museum.jpg)
Canon
[edit]- Fanny Eaton(1861); oils, bust-length portrait.Yale Center for British Art[21]
- Sketches of Fanny Eaton(1861); pages in artist's sketchbook. British Museum[22]
John Everett Millais
[edit]- Parables of Our Lord: The Pearl of Great Price(1860); ink drawing with some watercolor wash, biblical scene. Eaton appears as a youthful Levantine. British Museum[23]
- Jephthah(1867); biblical scene in oils. Eaton, at rear right, wears the dress of a household servant. National Museum of Wales[24]
Albert Moore
[edit]- Mother of Sisera (1861); biblical portrait in oils. Eaton, in a rich collar necklace, models the mother ofSisera,commander of theCanaanitearmy. Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery[25]
- Study of Fanny Eaton, seated, wash and graphite. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
[edit]- Study of a Young Woman [Mrs. Eaton] (1863-1865); study drawing of head in black chalk and charcoal. Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University[26]
- The Beloved(1865); biblical scene in oils. Eaton is portrayed as a bridesmaid to the bride in theSong of Songs.
Frederick Sandys
[edit]- Study of the head of a young mulatto woman, full face (c. 1859); study drawing of head in black and red chalk. Art Gallery NSW[27]
- Study of Fanny Eaton; seen in profile to left (1860); study drawing in black, red and white chalk, on buff paper. British Museum.[28]
- Study for the head of Morgan le Fay (1862); study drawing of head in pencil and red chalk, Eaton in the character ofMorgan le Fay.Victoria and Albert Museum[29]
Rebecca Solomon
[edit]- A Young Teacher(1860); genre scene in oils. Eaton is portrayed as an Indian house servant. Princeton University Art Museum[30]
Simeon Solomon
[edit]- Portrait of Mrs Fanny Eaton(1859); study drawing of head. Fitzwilliam Museum[31]
- Portrait of Mrs Fanny Eaton, profile left(1859); study drawing of head. Fitzwilliam Museum[32]
- Portrait of Fanny Eaton(1860); study drawing of head.Metropolitan Museum of Art[33]
- The Mother of Moses(c. 1860); biblical scene in oils. Eaton appears as the Levantine figures ofJochebedandMiriam.Delaware Art Museum[34]
Walter Fryer Stocks
[edit]- Portrait of Mrs Fanny Eaton(1860); study drawing of head and shoulders in black, red, and white chalk. Princeton University Art Museum[35]
Awaiting further research
[edit]- The Slave(1886) genre scene in oils.As of 2022, the date, uncertain subject matter, and current state of the research have not definitively confirmed this as a portrait of Fanny Eaton or members of her family.[36]Tate Gallery[37]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Pina, Stephanie Graham (3 February 2014),"Image of the Week: Head of Mrs. Eaton by Joanna Boyce Wells".Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood.
- ^Ferrari, Roberto C., 2014, "Fanny Eaton: The 'Other' Pre-Raphaelite Model", Columbia University Academic Commons,doi:10.7916/D8X92900.
- ^Marsh, Jan (2013)."Pictured at Work: Employment in Art 1800–1900".InAdi, Hakim;Bressey, Caroline (eds.).Belonging in Europe – The African Diaspora and Work.Routledge.ISBN9781317989769.
- ^abcdeFerrari, Roberto C. (14 May 2020),"Eaton [née Antwistle/Entwistle], Fanny (1835–1924), artist's model",Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,Oxford University Press,doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000369549,ISBN978-0-19-861412-8,retrieved22 May2022
- ^Giles, Laura M."New Acquisition: Walter Fryer Stocks's Mrs. Fanny Eaton".Princeton University Art Museum.
- ^Marsh, Jan; Manchester City Art Gallery (2005).Black Victorians: black people in British art 1800–1900.Lund Humphries.ISBN0853319308.
- ^Surtees, Virginia (1971).The Paintings and Drawings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882).Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 204 no. 556.
- ^"Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales".
- ^Treuherz, Julian (2006)."Black Victorians. Manchester and Birmingham".The Burlington Magazine.148(1234): 52–54.ISSN0007-6287.JSTOR20074285.
- ^Herbert, Ian (29 September 2005)."Airbrushed out of history: How Victorian Britain portrayed its blacks".The Independent.Retrieved22 May2022.
- ^Judah, Hettie (16 October 2019)."Pre-Raphaelite Sisters review – the heroic women behind the frilly-shirted bro-fest".the Guardian.Retrieved22 May2022.
- ^Crowhurst, Anna-Marie (18 November 2020)."Who was Fanny Eaton? Meet the pre-Raphaelite Victorian muse".Stylist.Retrieved22 May2022.
- ^Sinclair, Leah (6 February 2018),"Suffrage 100: The Black Women Who Changed British History"Archived19 July 2019 at theWayback Machine,The Voice.
- ^"Pre-Raphaelite Sisters".National Portrait Gallery.Archived fromthe originalon 25 January 2020.Retrieved25 January2020.
- ^
- mosheim, tas (7 February 2020)."Ali Plumb: No one wants to see me" suck up "to a series of celebrities".Palatinate.Retrieved24 June2023.
- RAW 1251AM (6 February 2017)."Ali Plumb - RAW Interviews".youtube.Retrieved24 June2023.
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:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "From the Boar to the BBC: an interview with Ali Plumb".The Boar.org.June 2023.Retrieved24 June2023.
- "Ali Plumb".United Agents.Retrieved24 June2023.
- "Cinemagic: The Film Review - A Masterclass with Ali Plumb".Queen's Film Theatre.Belfast.Retrieved24 June2023.
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:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "BAFTA announces hosting line-up for the 2023 EE BAFTA Film Awards featuring Richard E. Grant, Alison Hammond, Ali Plumb and Vick Hope".BAFTA.16 January 2023.Retrieved24 June2023.
- "Movie Mixtapes".BBC Radio 1.BBC.Retrieved24 June2023.
- ^"Get Animated! Introducing BBC Arts",BBC.
- ^"Fanny Eaton: The Forgotten Pre-Raphaelite Model",New Creatives,BBC, April 2020.
- ^Firth-Bernard, Bryony (7 October 2020)."The Black women who were true game changers".Prima.
- ^"Maz Hedgehog: Fanny Eaton",Black History Month: Poems,BBC.
- ^"Celebrating Fanny Eaton".Google.18 November 2020.
- ^Boyce Wells, Joanna (1860)."Head of a Mulatto Woman (Mrs. Eaton)".Yale Center for British Art.
- ^Boyce Wells, Joanna (1860)."drawing; sketch-book | British Museum".The British Museum.Retrieved30 May2022.
- ^"drawing | British Museum".The British Museum.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Millais, John Everett (1867)."Jephthah".National Museum Wales.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Moore, Albert Joseph (1861)."The Mother of Sisera".Art UK.Archived fromthe originalon 30 May 2022.Retrieved30 May2022.
- ^Rossetti, Dante Gabriel."Study of a Young Woman [Mrs. Eaton]".Cantor Arts Cente, Stanford University.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Sandys, Frederick."Study of the head of a young mulatto woman, full face, circa 1859".Art Gallery of New South Wales.Retrieved30 May2022.
- ^Sandys, Frederick (1860)."Study of Fanny Eaton; seen in profile to left".The British Museum.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Sandys, Frederick (1861)."Study for the head of Morgan le Fay".Victoria and Albert Museum.Retrieved30 May2022.
- ^Ludel, Wallace (3 May 2022)."Princeton Museum acquires rare work by Pre-Raphaelite painter Rebecca Solomon".The Art Newspaper - International art news and events.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Solomon, Simeon (1859)."Portrait of Mrs Fanny Eaton: PD.55-1959".The Fitzwilliam Museum.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Solomon, Simeon (1859)."Portrait of Mrs Fanny Eaton, profile left: PD.54-1959".The Fitzwilliam Museum.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Solomon, Simeon (1860)."Portrait of Fanny Eaton".Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Solomon, Simeon."The Mother of Moses".Delaware Art Museum.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Stocks, Walter Fryer (1859)."Mrs. Fanny Eaton".Princeton University Art Museum.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Figes, Lydia (23 October 2019)."Fanny Eaton: Jamaican Pre-Raphaelite muse".Art UK.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Richmond, William Blake (1886)."The Slave".Tate Gallery.Retrieved29 May2022.
- ^Figes, L (23 October 2019)."Fanny Eaton: Jamaican Pre-Raphaelite muse".ArtUK.org.Retrieved18 November2020.
Further reading
[edit]- Figes, Lydia (23 October 2019)."Fanny Eaton: Jamaican Pre-Raphaelite muse".ArtUK.org