Through close technical examination and art historical analysis of two paintings, ‘Queen Eleanor and the Fair Rosamund’ (1901-02) and ‘In Memoriam’ (1890-1919), Alexandra Earl will illustrate how De Morgan’s practice was influenced by her Pre-Raphaelite contemporaries as well as driven by her artistic training and own idiosyncratic methods. New primary material, coupled with the first in-depth scientific analysis of her paintings and palette, has enabled De Morgan’s oeuvre to be better understood – thus contributing to the expanding recognition of De Morgan as an artist in her own right.

About the speaker

Alexandra Earl is in her final year of studying the Conservation of Easel Paintings at The Courtauld Institute of Art. Whilst completing a Bachelor’s degree in Art History and Master’s degree in Technical Art History, she has provided public presentations on the relationships between poetry and art during the Renaissance and Romanticism era. Earl has interned as a Paintings Conservator at Southampton City Art Gallery, Oxford University, The Houses of Parliament, and Tate Britain. Her passion and interest in Pre-Raphaelitism stemmed from her studies of Victorian literature and by replicating Pre-Raphaelite paintings and drawings. Through internships and studying at The Courtauld, Earl has investigated nineteenth-century British painting practice by examining and conserving artworks, including those by Evelyn De Morgan, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and J. M. W. Turner.

Image credit: (detail) Alexandra Earl, courtesy Alexandra Earl.