The Royal Academy of Arts presents a major retrospective exhibition of the Pre-Raphaelite artist, John William Waterhouse RA (1849-1917). The exhibition, which features over 40 paintings from both public and private collections, includes such highlights as The Lady of Shalott, 1888 (Tate),Hylas and the Nymphs, 1896 (Manchester Art Gallery), Circe Invidiosa: Circe Poisoning the Sea, 1892 (The Art Gallery of South Australia), and from the Royal Academy Collection, A Mermaid, 1900. These works are accompanied by studies in oil, chalk and pencil; period photographs; sketchbooks; and the volumes of Tennyson and Shelley in which Waterhouse drew sketches. The retrospective considers how Waterhouse’s paintings reflect his engagement with contemporary issues ranging from antiquarianism and the classical heritage to occultism and the ‘New Woman’. It includes almost all the paintings which made him one of the most successful and critically acclaimed artists of the day.
