Ophelia resurfaces in this homage to Pre-Raphaelite sitter, artist, and muse Elizabeth Siddal immortalised in Millais’ Ophelia (1851–2), now reimagined in portraits by Vanessa Stockard.
As a young art student, Stockard worked for a family purportedly related to Siddal, and formed a close bond with the mother, Jenny, who became Stockard’s modern muse. This exhibition includes paintings inspired by Polaroids of a young Jenny: “Her glorious head of hair draped over pillows on a white bed. She looked so much like a young Ophelia, I never forgot them.”
Vanessa Stockard, K-bomb William Morris Hunt Girl with a Cat, oil on dibond, 40 × 40cm. Courtesy the artist and Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne
Scott Livesey Galleries
17 June to 8 July 2023
Melbourne
