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 ...

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 The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

. 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. 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. 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 Briton Riviere *Birnam Woods by

*The Prayer and Portrait of The Hon J L Motley by George Frederick Watts *A Flood by John Everett Millais *When Apples were Golden by John Melhuish Strudwick *

The Shadow of Death ''The Shadow of Death'' is a religious painting by William Holman Hunt, on which he worked from 1870 to 1873, during his second trip to the Holy Land. It depicts Jesus as a young man prior to his ministry, working as a carpenter. He is shown ...

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolis ...

*Astarte Syriaca by

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

*Sybilla Delphica by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

*Paola and Francesca by George Frederick Watts *The Syrinx by Arthur Hacker

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