Fanny Eaton By Joanna Boyce Wells
Joanna Wells studied painting in London and Paris. She belonged to the circle of the Pre-Raphaelites and exhibited to acclaim for the first time in 1851 when John Ruskin warmly admired her work. This small study was made in the last year of her life as she prepared a large canvas of Zenobia, the ancient queen of the Palmyrene Empire. She died in childbirth before she could complete it. Fanny Eaton was a biracial model of Jamaican heritage who posed for Wells and other Victorian artists such as Albert Moore, Frederick Sandys, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Despite heated debates about slavery and abolition in Britain during the 19th century, it seems that the issue of race was not raised publicly or even privately with respect to paintings of Mrs. Eaton in various historical or exotic guises. March is Women's History Month and as you can see, we won't disappoint you with celebrating it! :)
