Effie Gray
Encyclopedia
Euphemia Chalmers Millais, Lady Millais née
Gray, known as Effie Gray, Effie Ruskin or Effie Millais (1828 - 23 December 1897) was the wife of the critic John Ruskin
, but left her husband without the marriage being consummated, and after the annulment of the marriage, married his protégé, the Pre-Raphaelite
painter John Everett Millais
. This famous Victorian "love triangle
" has been dramatised in several plays
and an opera
.
and lived in Bowerswell, the house where Ruskin's grandfather had committed suicide. Her family knew Ruskin's father, who encouraged a match between them. Ruskin wrote the fantasy novel The King of the Golden River
for her in 1841, when she was twelve years old. After their marriage in 1848, they travelled to Venice where Ruskin was researching his book The Stones of Venice
. However, their different temperaments soon caused problems as she was naturally outgoing and flirtatious, coming to feel oppressed by her husband's dogmatic personality.
_chalmers_(ne_gray),_lady_millais_by_thomas_richmond.jpg)
When she met Millais five years later, she was still a virgin, as Ruskin had persistently put off consummating
the marriage. His reasons are unclear, but they involved disgust with some aspect of her body. As she later wrote to her father,
While married to Ruskin, she modelled for Millais' painting The Order of Release
, in which she was depicted as the loyal wife of a Scottish rebel who has secured his release from prison. She then became close to Millais when he accompanied the couple on a trip to Scotland in order to paint Ruskin's portrait according to the critic's artistic principles. During this time, spent in Brig o' Turk
in the Trossachs
, they fell in love. She left Ruskin and, with the support of her family and a number of influential friends, filed for an annulment
, causing a major public scandal; their marriage was annulled in 1854. In 1855, she married John Millais and eventually bore him eight children: Everett, born in 1856; George, born in 1857; Effie, born in 1858; Mary, born in 1860; Alice, born in 1862; Geoffroy, born in 1863; John in 1865; and Sophie in 1868. Their youngest son John Guille Millais
was a notable bird artist and gardener. She also modelled for a number of his works, notably Peace Concluded
(1856), which idealises her as an icon of beauty and fertility.
When Ruskin later sought to become engaged to a teenage girl, Rose la Touche
, Rose's parents were concerned. They wrote to her to ask about the marriage; she replied by describing Ruskin as an oppressive husband. The engagement was broken off.
After his marriage, Millais began to paint in a broader style, which Ruskin condemned as a "catastrophe". Marriage had given him a large family to support, and it is claimed that his wife encouraged him to churn out popular works for financial gain and to maintain her busy social life. However, there is no evidence that she consciously pressured him to do so, though she was an effective manager of his career and often collaborated with him in choosing subjects. Her journal indicates her high regard for her husband's art, and his works are still recognisably Pre-Raphaelite in style several years after his marriage.
However, Millais eventually abandoned the Pre-Raphaelite obsession with detail and began to paint in a looser style which produced more paintings for the time and effort. Many were inspired by his family life with his wife, often using his children and grandchildren as models. Millais also used his sister-in-law, Sophy Gray
, then in her early teens, as the basis of some striking images in the mid to late 1850s, provoking suggestions of a mutual infatuation.
, allowing Gray to attend an official function. Sixteen months after Millais' death, Effie died at Bowerswell on 23 December 1897 and was buried in Kinnoull churchyard, Perth, which is depicted in Millais's painting The Vale of Rest.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Gray, known as Effie Gray, Effie Ruskin or Effie Millais (1828 - 23 December 1897) was the wife of the critic John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, but left her husband without the marriage being consummated, and after the annulment of the marriage, married his protégé, the Pre-Raphaelite
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...
painter 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:...
. This famous Victorian "love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
" has been dramatised in several plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
and an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
.
Relationship with Ruskin and Millais
Effie Gray was born in Perth, ScotlandPerth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
and lived in Bowerswell, the house where Ruskin's grandfather had committed suicide. Her family knew Ruskin's father, who encouraged a match between them. Ruskin wrote the fantasy novel The King of the Golden River
The King of the Golden River
The King of the Golden River or The Black Brothers: A Legend of Stiria by John Ruskin was originally written in 1841 for the twelve-year-old Effie Gray, whom Ruskin later married. It was published in book form in 1851, and became an early Victorian classic which sold out three editions...
for her in 1841, when she was twelve years old. After their marriage in 1848, they travelled to Venice where Ruskin was researching his book The Stones of Venice
The Stones of Venice (book)
The Stones of Venice is a three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture by English art historian John Ruskin, first published from 1851 to 1853. Intending to prove how the architecture in Venice exemplified the principles he discussed in his earlier work, The Seven Lamps of Architecture,...
. However, their different temperaments soon caused problems as she was naturally outgoing and flirtatious, coming to feel oppressed by her husband's dogmatic personality.
Consummate
Consummation or consummation of a marriage, in many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, is the first act of sexual intercourse between two individuals, following their marriage to each other...
the marriage. His reasons are unclear, but they involved disgust with some aspect of her body. As she later wrote to her father,
"He alleged various reasons, hatred to children, religious motives, a desire to preserve my beauty, and, finally this last year he told me his true reason... that he had imagined women were quite different to what he saw I was, and that the reason he did not make me his Wife was because he was disgusted with my person the first evening 10th April."Ruskin confirmed this in his statement to his lawyer during the annulment proceedings.
"It may be thought strange that I could abstain from a woman who to most people was so attractive. But though her face was beautiful, her person was not formed to excite passion. On the contrary, there were certain circumstances in her person which completely checked it."The reason for this disgust with "circumstances in her person" is unknown. Various suggestions have been made, including revulsion from either her pubic hair, or menstrual blood.
While married to Ruskin, she modelled for Millais' painting The Order of Release
The Order of Release
The Order of Release, 1746 is a painting by John Everett Millais exhibited in 1853. It is notable for the fact that it marks the beginnings of Millais's move away from the highly detailed Pre-Raphaelitism of his early years...
, in which she was depicted as the loyal wife of a Scottish rebel who has secured his release from prison. She then became close to Millais when he accompanied the couple on a trip to Scotland in order to paint Ruskin's portrait according to the critic's artistic principles. During this time, spent in Brig o' Turk
Brig o' Turk
Brig o' Turk or is a small community in the Trossachs, a range of hills in Stirling, Scotland. Its name is derived from the Gaelic Tuirc meaning wild boar.-Features:...
in the Trossachs
Trossachs
The Trossachs itself is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben A'an to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west and Loch Achray to the east. However, the name is used generally to refer to the wider area of wooded glens and...
, they fell in love. She left Ruskin and, with the support of her family and a number of influential friends, filed for an annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
, causing a major public scandal; their marriage was annulled in 1854. In 1855, she married John Millais and eventually bore him eight children: Everett, born in 1856; George, born in 1857; Effie, born in 1858; Mary, born in 1860; Alice, born in 1862; Geoffroy, born in 1863; John in 1865; and Sophie in 1868. Their youngest son John Guille Millais
John Guille Millais
John Guille Millais , known as "Johnny" Millais, was an English artist, naturalist, gardener and travel writer who specialised in wildlife and flower portraiture. He travelled extensively around the world in the late Victorian period detailing wildlife often for the first time...
was a notable bird artist and gardener. She also modelled for a number of his works, notably Peace Concluded
Peace Concluded
Peace Concluded, 1856 is a painting by John Everett Millais which depicts a wounded British officer reading The Times newspaper's report of the end of the Crimean war...
(1856), which idealises her as an icon of beauty and fertility.
When Ruskin later sought to become engaged to a teenage girl, Rose la Touche
Rose la Touche
Rose La Touche was the pupil, cherished student, "pet," and ideal from which John Ruskin based Sesame and Lilies .- Introduction to John Ruskin :...
, Rose's parents were concerned. They wrote to her to ask about the marriage; she replied by describing Ruskin as an oppressive husband. The engagement was broken off.
Influence on Millais
However, Millais eventually abandoned the Pre-Raphaelite obsession with detail and began to paint in a looser style which produced more paintings for the time and effort. Many were inspired by his family life with his wife, often using his children and grandchildren as models. Millais also used his sister-in-law, Sophy Gray
Sophy Gray (Pre-Raphaelite muse)
Sophia Margaret Gray , later Sophy Caird, was a Scottish-born model for her brother-in-law, the pre-Raphaelite painter, John Everett Millais. She was the younger sister of Euphemia Gray, who married Millais in 1855 after the annulment of her marriage to John Ruskin.-Background:Sophy Gray was born...
, then in her early teens, as the basis of some striking images in the mid to late 1850s, provoking suggestions of a mutual infatuation.
Later life
The annulment from Ruskin barred her from some social functions. She was not allowed in the presence of Queen Victoria, precluding invitations to events at which the Queen was present. Prior to the annulment, she had been socially very active and this bothered both her and her husband considerably, although many in society were still prepared to receive her and to press her case sympathetically. Eventually, when Millais was dying, the Queen relented through the intervention of her daughter Princess LouisePrincess Louise, Duchess of Argyll
The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...
, allowing Gray to attend an official function. Sixteen months after Millais' death, Effie died at Bowerswell on 23 December 1897 and was buried in Kinnoull churchyard, Perth, which is depicted in Millais's painting The Vale of Rest.
In drama and literature
Her marriage to Ruskin and subsequent romance with Millais have been dramatised on many occasions:- The Love of John Ruskin (1912) a silent movie about Ruskin, Gray and Millais.
- The Love SchoolThe Love SchoolThe 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) a BBC series about the Pre-Raphaelites, starring Anne Kidd (Gray), David CollingsDavid CollingsDavid Collings is a British actor. He has played many different roles on various television programmes, including the leading dramatic role in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment in 1964....
(Ruskin), Peter EganPeter EganPeter Egan is a British actor known for playing smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in 1980s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles. He is married to retired actress Myra Frances.-Early life:...
(Millais) - John Ruskin's Wife (1979) a novel about the relationship by Eva McDonald.
- The Passion of John RuskinThe Passion of John RuskinThe Passion of John Ruskin is a Canadian short film released in 1994 based on the love life of writer and critic John Ruskin. It is directed by Alex Chapple, starring Mark McKinney as Ruskin, and Neve Campbell as his first wife Effie Gray...
(1994), a short film directed by Alex Chappel, starring Mark McKinneyMark McKinneyMark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
(Ruskin), Neve CampbellNeve CampbellNeve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...
(Gray) and Colette Stevenson (Gray's voice). - "Modern Painters" (opera) (1995) an opera about Ruskin, Gray and Millais.
- Parrots and Owls (1994) a radio play by John PurserJohn PurserJohn Purser, born in 1942 in Glasgow, Scotland, is an eminent composer, musicologist, and music historian. He is also a playwright.He initiated the reconstruction which commenced in 1991 of the Iron Age Deskford Carnyx, producing a replica which was first played in 1993 by trombonist John Kenny.The...
about the O'Shea brothers in which Gray appears as a friend of James O'Shea and her marital problems are discussed. - The Countess, (1995) a play written by Gregory Murphy concentrating on the breakdown of the marriage between Ruskin and Gray.
- The Order of Release (1998) A radio play by Robin BrooksRobin 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...
about Ruskin (Bob PeckBob PeckBob Peck was an English stage, television and film actor.-Early life:He went to Leeds Modern School in Lawnswood...
), Gray (Sharon SmallSharon SmallSharon Small is a Scottish actress acclaimed for her dramatic work in film, radio, theatre and television. Her best-known TV role is that of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers in the BBC television adaptation of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries by Elizabeth George.-Education and personal life:Small...
) and Millais (David TennantDavid TennantDavid Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
). - The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits (2002), a collection of short stories by Emma DonoghueEmma DonoghueEmma Donoghue is an Irish-born playwright, literary historian and novelist now living in Canada. Her 2010 novel Room was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and an international bestseller. Donoghue's 1995 novel Hood won the Stonewall Book Award and Slammerkin won the Ferro-Grumley Award for...
, contains a story Come, Gentle Night about Ruskin and Gray's wedding night. - Mrs Ruskin (2003), a play by Kim MorrisseyKim MorrisseyKim Morrissey is a Canadian poet and playwright who lives in London, England. Many of her works examine the role of women in nineteenth century culture, re-imagining the lives of historical figures. She is also part of the Comedy Collective UK...
about the breakdown of the marriage and Gray's fraught relationship with Ruskin's domineering mother. - Desperate RomanticsDesperate RomanticsDesperate 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), a six-part BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television drama serial about the Pre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodPre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodThe 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...
. She is played by Zoe TapperZoe TapperZoe Tapper is an English actress who first came to prominence playing Nell Gwynne in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Stage Beauty in 2004. She is known for portraying Anya Raczynski in Survivors and Mina Harker in Demons.-Background:...
. - Effie, a film produced by Emma Thompson that is currently in pre-production. Dakota FanningDakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
will be playing Effie.