Lillian Forrester ( Williamson; born 1879) was a British suffragette who led an attack on the

Manchester Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

Life

She was born Lillian Williamson in 1879, and was the second daughter of Arthur Williamson, a commercial clerk, and Elizabeth Hall. In 1901 she was attending Owen's College, which later became Victoria University of Manchester. At one point she said she had a degree in History. In 1911 Forrester was invited to Eagle House near Bath by Linley and

Emily Blathwayt Emily Marion Blathwayt (née Rose; 1852 – 1940) was a British suffragette and mother of Mary Blathwayt. She and her husband, Linley, a retired Colonel from the Indian Army lived at Eagle House in Somerset and established a welcome and garden ...

. The Blathwayts invited leading suffragettes to visit their house. They created over 40 memorial trees to celebrate these visits in what was known as 'Annie's Arbour'. Militant Suffragettes as identified by the UK Criminal Record Office

Militant Suffragettes as identified by the UK Criminal Record Office

Forrester led an attack on the Manchester Art Gallery on 3 April 1913. She,

Evelyn Manesta Evelyn Manesta (born ) was a British suffragette. There are few details about her birth or death but she is known for being identified as dangerous after attacking Manchester Art Gallery. Life (details known) Along with Lillian Forrester and An ...

and Annie Briggs waited until the gallery was closing and then proceeded to break the glass on many of the most valuable paintings. The three attacked the glass of thirteen paintings including two by

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

and two by

George Frederick Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical wor ...

. Staff were alerted by the sound of broken glass and the three were apprehended. Four of the paintings had been damaged by the broken glass. They were bailed to appear before magistrates the next day. Briggs persuaded the court that she had been present but had not been involved. Evelyn Manesta was given a sentence of a month and Forrester's sentence was three months for

malicious damage Malicious may refer to: Films and video games * ''Malicious'' (1973 film) (''Malizia''), an Italian comedy starring Laura Antonelli * ''Malicious'' (1995 film), an American thriller starring Molly Ringwald * ''Malicious'' (2018 film), an Americ ...

. While she was imprisoned she and Manesta were secretly photographed and pictures of them were circulated with pictures of other militant suffragettes to police and art gallery staff. Manesta's photograph was modified to hide that she was being held around the neck whilst the photograph was taken.

Paintings involved

*The Last Watch of Hero and Captive Andromache by Lord

Frederic Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...

*The Last of the Garrison by

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*Birnam Woods by

*The Prayer and Portrait of The Hon J L Motley by

*A Flood by John Everett Millais *When Apples were Golden by

John Melhuish Strudwick John Melhuish Strudwick (6 May 1849 in Clapham, London – 16 July 1937 in Hammersmith), was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter. Early life Strudwick was the son of William Strudwick (1808–1861) and Sarah Melhuish (1800–1862). He attended ...

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*Astarte Syriaca by Dante Gabriel Rossetti *Sybilla Delphica by Edward Burne-Jones *Paola and Francesca by George Frederick Watts *The Syrinx by

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrester, Lillian 1879 births Year of death missing British female criminals British women's rights activists Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom English suffragists Eagle House suffragettes Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales 20th-century British criminals