Annie Miller
Encyclopedia
Annie Miller was an English
artists' model who, among others, sat for the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
, William Holman Hunt
, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
and John Everett Millais
. Her on-off relationship with Holman Hunt has been dramatised several times.
near the Duke of York public house. Her father Henry had been a soldier in the 14th Dragoons and was wounded in the Napoleonic Wars
. Her mother was a cleaner. She had a sister Harriet. When her mother died aged thirty-seven they moved in with relatives and her father worked for a local builder.
She was working as a barmaid when she attracted the attention of Hunt.
, now in the Tate Gallery
, though the face was later repainted by the artist. Hunt had planned to marry Annie and so before he left for Palestine in 1854, he made arrangements for her to be educated while he was away. Hunt also left a list of artists, including Millais, for whom Annie could sit. However during Hunt's absence and contrary to Hunt's wishes she also sat for George Price Boyce
and for Rossetti. For Rossetti she appeared in works such as Dante's Dream and Helen of Troy.
described Annie as 'siren-like' and her connection with Rossetti caused a rift between Rossetti and Hunt. Although it continued for a while after, the engagement between Annie and Hunt was terminated in 1859. Thereafter Boyce and Rossetti competed for sittings with her with Rossetti usually winning, though this caused Rossetti’s wife Elizabeth Siddal
on one occasion to throw his drawings of Annie out of the window. Annie became involved with the seventh Viscount Ranelagh
even though Hunt proposed to her. As a result, Hunt finally broke of the engagement.
After Hunt broke off the engagement, Annie sought help from Ranelagh, who suggested to her that she should sue Hunt for breach of promise
, but eventually Ranelagh's first cousin, Captain Thomas Thomson, fell in love with her. On 16 June 1862 Boyce saw her at the International Exhibition
"looking as handsome as ever, walking with a young man, rather a swell". This was probably Thomson. They married on 23 July 1863 at St Pancras Church
. Thomson then suggested that they threaten to give Annie's trunk full of letters from Hunt to the newspapers. This would embarrass Hunt's family and the Waugh's, his in-laws. Hunt's friends assumed that he bought back the letters.
Whether or not Miller had a sexual relationship with any of her admirers before her marriage is not known. Gordon H. Fleming
asserts that Ranleagh admitted to Hunt that Miller had been his mistress, but according to Jan Marsh, this might not have been the case. Marsh says that "she was undoubtedly lively, attractive and even flirtatious" and there was gossip about her relationship to Hunt, however, "it may be hard to believe that she could have succeeded without the judicial use of sexual favours - to Hunt, Rossetti, Ranelagh, Thomson and maybe others - but there is no evidence to prove that she did and much, from her relationship with Hunt, to suggest her reluctance to become 'gay'. It seems to me quite possible that she remained 'pure'."
She is not thought to have had more children, but years later Hunt encountered her on Richmond Hill
, "a buxom matron with a carriage full of children" and learned that she was happily married. Annie's husband died aged 87, at 6 Western Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, in 1916. Annie Miller lived for another 6 years after her husband's death, dying aged 90 in 1925. The family probably moved to Shoreham-by-Sea to be near a Thomson aunt, a Miss Sturges.
in Ken Russell
's film Dante's Inferno
(1967). In The Love School
(1975) she was portrayed by Sheila White
. Julie Cox
voiced her role in Robin Brooks
's trilogy of radio plays The Golden Triangle (1998). In Desperate Romantics
(2009) she was played by Jennie Jacques
. In the latter two dramatisations, she is depicted as a prostitute.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
artists' model who, among others, sat for the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
, William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt
William Holman Hunt OM was an English painter, and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Biography:...
, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
and John Everett Millais
John Everett Millais
Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Early life:...
. Her on-off relationship with Holman Hunt has been dramatised several times.
Early life
Annie Miller was born in 1835 in a cottage in ChelseaChelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
near the Duke of York public house. Her father Henry had been a soldier in the 14th Dragoons and was wounded in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Her mother was a cleaner. She had a sister Harriet. When her mother died aged thirty-seven they moved in with relatives and her father worked for a local builder.
She was working as a barmaid when she attracted the attention of Hunt.
Pre-Raphaelite modelling
Miller appeared as the subject of some of Hunt's paintings, perhaps most famously in his The Awakening ConscienceThe Awakening Conscience
The Awakening Conscience is an oil-on-canvas painting by British artist William Holman Hunt, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which depicts a young woman rising from her position in the lap of a man and gazing transfixed out of the window of a room.Initially the painting...
, now in the Tate Gallery
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, though the face was later repainted by the artist. Hunt had planned to marry Annie and so before he left for Palestine in 1854, he made arrangements for her to be educated while he was away. Hunt also left a list of artists, including Millais, for whom Annie could sit. However during Hunt's absence and contrary to Hunt's wishes she also sat for George Price Boyce
George Price Boyce
George Price Boyce was a British watercolour painter of landscapes and vernacular architecture in the Pre-Raphaelite style. He was a patron and friend of Dante Gabriel Rossetti....
and for Rossetti. For Rossetti she appeared in works such as Dante's Dream and Helen of Troy.
Break with Hunt and marriage
Hunt returned from his travels in 1856. Ford Madox BrownFord Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown was an English painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work...
described Annie as 'siren-like' and her connection with Rossetti caused a rift between Rossetti and Hunt. Although it continued for a while after, the engagement between Annie and Hunt was terminated in 1859. Thereafter Boyce and Rossetti competed for sittings with her with Rossetti usually winning, though this caused Rossetti’s wife Elizabeth Siddal
Elizabeth Siddal
Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal was an English artists' model, poet and artist who was painted and drawn extensively by artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, including Walter Deverell, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and most of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's early paintings of women.-Early...
on one occasion to throw his drawings of Annie out of the window. Annie became involved with the seventh Viscount Ranelagh
Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount Ranelagh
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount Ranelagh KCB was a British aristocrat known for his involvement in the volunteer movement to recruit amateur soldiers for the defence of Britain and for his links to glamorous women of the era, notably the Pre-Raphaelite model Annie Miller and...
even though Hunt proposed to her. As a result, Hunt finally broke of the engagement.
After Hunt broke off the engagement, Annie sought help from Ranelagh, who suggested to her that she should sue Hunt for breach of promise
Breach of promise
Breach of promise is a former common law tort.From at least medieval times until the early 20th century, a man's promise of engagement to marry a woman was considered, in many jurisdictions, a legally binding contract...
, but eventually Ranelagh's first cousin, Captain Thomas Thomson, fell in love with her. On 16 June 1862 Boyce saw her at the International Exhibition
1862 International Exhibition
The International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...
"looking as handsome as ever, walking with a young man, rather a swell". This was probably Thomson. They married on 23 July 1863 at St Pancras Church
St Pancras New Church
St Pancras Parish Church, sometimes referred to as St Pancras New Church to distinguish it from St Pancras Old Church, is a 19th century Greek Revival church in London, England.-Location:...
. Thomson then suggested that they threaten to give Annie's trunk full of letters from Hunt to the newspapers. This would embarrass Hunt's family and the Waugh's, his in-laws. Hunt's friends assumed that he bought back the letters.
Whether or not Miller had a sexual relationship with any of her admirers before her marriage is not known. Gordon H. Fleming
Gordon H. Fleming
Gordon H. Fleming was an American writer, critic and professor who specialized in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Outside of academia he was best known for several "clippings books" he published about various baseball teams and seasons...
asserts that Ranleagh admitted to Hunt that Miller had been his mistress, but according to Jan Marsh, this might not have been the case. Marsh says that "she was undoubtedly lively, attractive and even flirtatious" and there was gossip about her relationship to Hunt, however, "it may be hard to believe that she could have succeeded without the judicial use of sexual favours - to Hunt, Rossetti, Ranelagh, Thomson and maybe others - but there is no evidence to prove that she did and much, from her relationship with Hunt, to suggest her reluctance to become 'gay'. It seems to me quite possible that she remained 'pure'."
Later life
On the 11th October 1866 she gave birth to a daughter, Annie Helen, at Montrose House in Hampstead. In 1867 she gave birth to a son, Thomas James.She is not thought to have had more children, but years later Hunt encountered her on Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill, London
Richmond Hill in Richmond, London is a hill that rises gently on its northern side from the ancient Thames meadowlands around the site of Richmond Palace up to and slightly beyond the Richmond Gate entrance to Richmond Park, the former royal hunting grounds enclosed by Charles I...
, "a buxom matron with a carriage full of children" and learned that she was happily married. Annie's husband died aged 87, at 6 Western Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, in 1916. Annie Miller lived for another 6 years after her husband's death, dying aged 90 in 1925. The family probably moved to Shoreham-by-Sea to be near a Thomson aunt, a Miss Sturges.
Dramatic portrayals
Annie Miller was played by Caroline CoonCaroline Coon
Caroline Coon is an English artist, journalist and political activist. Her artwork, which often explores sexual themes from a feminist standpoint , has been exhibited at many major London galleries, including the Saatchi Gallery and the Tate.Coon was born to a family of Kent landowners and had...
in Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's film Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno (1967 film)
Dante's Inferno: The Private Life of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Poet and Painter is a feature-length 35mm film directed by Ken Russell and first screened on the BBC on 22 December 1967. It quickly became a staple in cinemas in retrospectives of Russell's work...
(1967). In The Love School
The Love School
The Love School is a BBC television drama series originally broadcast in 1975 about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, written by John Hale, Ray Lawler, Robin Chapman and John Prebble. It was directed by Piers Haggard, John Glenister and Robert Knights. It was shown during January and February 1975...
(1975) she was portrayed by Sheila White
Sheila White (actress)
Sheila White is an English actress and West End musical star. She is married to the former theatre producer Richard M. Mills and lives in Kingston, Surrey.- Early life and career :White was born in London...
. Julie Cox
Julie Cox
Julie Cox is an English-Scottish actress perhaps best known for her role as Princess Irulan in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 Dune miniseries and its 2003 follow-up, Children of Dune....
voiced her role in Robin Brooks
Robin Brooks
-Adaptations:* 2000 - The Art of Love, a comedy, emphasizing Ovid's role as lover, with Bill Nighy and Anne-Marie Duff* 2004 - Mort by Terry Pratchett* 2006 - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett* 2008 - An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson...
's trilogy of radio plays The Golden Triangle (1998). In Desperate Romantics
Desperate Romantics
Desperate Romantics is a six-part television drama serial about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, first broadcast on BBC Two between 21 July and 25 August 2009.-Overview:...
(2009) she was played by Jennie Jacques
Jennie Jacques
Jennie Jacques is an English actress who first came to prominence playing Annie Miller, a significant role featuring in five episodes of the BBC series Desperate Romantics, a six-part television drama serial about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, first broadcast on BBC Two in July and August...
. In the latter two dramatisations, she is depicted as a prostitute.