Ford Madox Brown - Self-Portrait (circa 1844)

Lucy Madox Brown (1843-1894) was an English painter and writer. She was the daughter of the prominent Pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Madox Brown and his wife Emma Hill. Lucy was one of six children and grew up in a household of artists and writers. Lucy showed an early talent for painting and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. She exhibited her work at the Royal Academy and other major exhibitions and became known for her portraits, landscapes and genre scenes. In addition to her career as a painter, Lucy was also a writer. She published several novels and short stories, including 'The House on the Marshland' and 'Miss Carew'. Her writing often reflected her interest in social issues, particularly the lives of working class women. Lucy married William Michael Rossetti, the brother of the Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, in 1874. They had one child, a son named Arthur. Lucy continued to paint and write throughout her life, but her career was overshadowed by that of her more famous family members. She died in London in 1894, aged 51.