Sophy Gray (Pre-Raphaelite muse)
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Sophia Margaret "Sophie" Gray (28 October 1843 – 15 March 1882), later Sophia Margaret Caird, was a Scottish model for her brother-in-law, the
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...
painter
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 ...
. She was a younger sister of Euphemia "Effie" Gray, who married Millais in 1855 after the annulment of her marriage to
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
. The spelling of her name was, after around 1861, sometimes "Sophy," but only within the family. In public she was known as Sophie and later in life, after her marriage, as Sophia. From the late 1860s she suffered from a mental illness which seems to have involved a form of
anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...
. In 1873, she married the Scottish entrepreneur James Caird and together they had a daughter. She died in 1882, probably as a result of her anorexia.


Background

Sophie Gray was born in October 1843 to Sophia Margaret Gray, ''née'' Jameson (1808–1894), and George Gray (1798–1877), a Scottish lawyer and businessman. Her maternal grandfather, Andrew Jameson, became
Sheriff-substitute In the Courts of Scotland, a sheriff-substitute was the historical name for the judges who sit in the local sheriff courts under the direction of the sheriffs principal; from 1971 the sheriffs substitute were renamed simply as sheriff. When rese ...
of
Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...
.Mervyn Williams (2012) ''Effie'' Effie Gray (1828–1897), known initially to the family as "Phemy," was the first of fifteen children, and Sophie was the tenth—three sisters, one also named Sophia Margaret, predeceased her. Two of her five elder brothers died before her birth and two passed away before she was seven. The family lived at Bowerswell, a house re-built in 1842 near the foot of
Kinnoull Hill Kinnoull Hill is a hill located partly in Perth and partly in Kinfauns, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It shares its name with the nearby Kinnoull parish. Summit In view from the -high south-facing summit is the Friarton Bridge, a stretch of the ...
, south-east of
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. As a child, Gray frequently visited and stayed with her sister Effie in London with her husband, the critic and artist
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...
. To an extent Effie, who was fifteen years older than Sophie, acted as a kind of second mother to her and Effie's other siblings. From a young age Gray was exposed to the increasingly strained circumstances of the Ruskins' unconsummated marriage.Suzanne Fagence Cooper (2010) ''The Model Wife: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, Ruskin and Millais'', chapter 12 In fact, through her increasing presence in the Ruskin household, Gray may, in some respects, have been a convenient chaperone for her elder sister, whose largely independent social life tended to attract comment.Robert Brownell (2013) ''Marriage of Inconvenience'' According to Effie, Ruskin's manservant, Frederick Crawley, expressed to Gray his concern that other servants might spread gossip "all over
Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This ...
." Gray's governess of three years, a French woman named Delphine, appears to have been discharged by the Grays in March 1854 because of Gray's habit of confiding in her.


Effie Gray's flight from Ruskin and marriage to Millais

On 25 April 1854 Effie left her husband on the pretence of visiting her parents in Scotland. Gray had been staying with the Ruskins, at their home in
Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the borough ...
since just after Christmas 1853 and appears to have been complicit in her sister's flight. She and Effie were seen off in silence by Ruskin at the recently opened King's Cross station, where, accompanied by Crawley, they boarded a train for
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. However, Gray alighted at
Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people, a tribe holding ...
, Hertfordshire where her parents were waiting. Her mother took her place on the train, while she and her father returned to London to deliver a package from Effie to her solicitors. That evening a citation of nullity was delivered to Ruskin, together with certain effects such as Effie's wedding ring and her keys.Phyllis Rose (1983) ''Parallel Lives'', "Effie Gray & John Ruskin". The following day Gray and her father returned to Scotland by steamer. Effie was granted a decree of nullity on 20 July 1854. The previous summer, she, Ruskin, and his protégé
John 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 ...
had spent four months together in the
Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...
, during which time she and Millais formed a close and increasingly intimate bond. In early 1854, Millais painted a portrait of Gray for her parents. Through her regular visits to his studio in Gower Street, London, where she impressed Millais by her patience, Gray was able to act a go-between with Effie. During this period, Ruskin's mother (to whom her son was close) appears to have indulged Gray, while, at the same time, casting aspersions on Effie, who was under considerable stress. For his part, Ruskin sometimes accompanied Gray on walks, in the course of which he too spoke slightingly of his wife, possibly seeking to turn Gray against her. Effie's surviving letters to her parents suggest that Gray kept her well informed of such adverse criticism. After the annulment of her marriage, Effie avoided Millais for some time, although he remained in contact with the girls' mother. Effie and Gray, whose governess was not replaced, spent much of the summer at
St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...
, on the coast of Fife, with their younger sister, Alice Elizabeth Gray (1845–1929). They went for walks together and Effie, who had been well educated herself, acted as her sisters’ teacher. The following year, Millais came up to Bowerswell, where they were married in June 1855.


Gray as model

For the next few years Gray continued to sit for Millais. After he and Effie moved to Annat Lodge, close to Bowerswell, she was readily available for this purpose, but while it seems she was beginning to displace Effie herself as a favored subject, it is unsurprising that Effie wanted to keep herself out of the public eye to a degree, following the very public dissolution of her marriage. In the words of art historian
Suzanne Fagence Cooper Suzanne Fagence Cooper is a British non-fiction writer who has written extensively on the Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian women. Education and career Fagence Cooper received a BA in history from Oxford University and spent 12 years as a curator o ...
, whose biographical chapter about Gray (2010) provides the fullest account of her life, Gray "changes before our eyes from a child to a stunning teenager." This change can be traced in three works by Millais: '' Autumn Leaves'' (1855–56), ''Spring'' (or ''Apple Blossoms'') (1856–1859) and, most strikingly, in a small, but "unnerving" portrait of her at the age of 13, entitled ''Portrait of a Young Lady'', or simply ''Sophie Gray'' (1857).
Charles Edward Perugini Charles Edward Perugini (1 September 1839 – 22 December 1918), originally Carlo Perugini, was an Italian-born English painter of the Romantic and Victorian era. Biography Perugini was born in Naples, but lived with his family in Engla ...
also painted a portrait of Gray as a young woman; the date is not known with certainty and for some years it was attributed mistakenly to Millais.


''Autumn Leaves'' and ''Spring''

In ''Autumn Leaves'', Gray is one of four girls beside a smoking bonfire of leaves. Her sister Alice is also in this picture, together with two local girls at the right procured by Effie. Of the four, only Gray appears to be verging on womanhood.Barringer, Rosenfeld & Smith (Tate, 2012) ''Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde'', pp. 160-161 In the later ''Spring'', eight girls (whose ages ranged from 12 to 15) recline in an orchard. Gray is depicted in profile, wearing a colourful, striped robe, with long flowing hair, while Alice lies a somewhat provocatively with a blade of grass in her mouth.


''Sophie Gray'' and Gray’s relationship with Millais

''Sophie Gray'' is a sensual, knowing, and direct image, which, almost inevitably, has provoked questions about the nature of Millais's relationship with his sister-in-law. There was undoubtedly a strong affection between them, which may well have grown into mutual infatuation. According to
Mary Lutyens Edith Penelope Mary Lutyens (pseudonym ''Esther Wyndham''; 31 July 1908 – 9 April 1999) was a British author who is principally known for her biographical works on the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. Early life Mary Lutyens was born in L ...
, who researched the lives of Effie, Ruskin and Millais, it was rumoured that Effie had to send Gray away because of concerns that she and Millais were growing too close; however, there is no clear evidence of a more intimate relationship between them. Gray's parents were content for Millais to chaperone her – for example, on an overnight train to London – and, whatever the truth of any rumour, Effie remained close to her sister and often invited her to stay after she and Millais moved back to London in 1861. When Gray later became ill, Effie visited her frequently. Unlike Millais's 1854 portrait of Gray, his later work was not kept by the family. It was sold to
George Price Boyce George Price Boyce (24 September 1826 – 9 February 1897) was a British watercolour painter of landscapes and vernacular architecture in the Pre-Raphaelite style. He was a patron and friend of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Life Boyce was born in ...
, a friend of Millais's Pre-Raphaelite brother,
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 ...
, who painted a portrait of Fanny Cornforth, a lover he shared with Boyce, to hang alongside that of Gray. Entitled '' Bocca Baciata'' ("the mouth that has been kissed") after a theme in
Boccacio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...
's ''
Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...
'', Rossetti's picture (1859) was described by
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 ...
, another member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, as "remarkable for gross sensuality of a revolting kind ... I see Rossetti as advocating as a principle the mere gratification of the eye." As Cooper has remarked, this "after-life" of ''Sophie Gray'' demonstrated its "erotic potential." The two pictures, by Millais and Rossetti, hung side-by-side in the exhibition "Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde" when the exhibition was on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., demonstrating two strands of Pre-Raphaelite conceptions of female beauty in, respectively, the forms of realism and Aestheticism. In 2012 ''Autumn Leaves'' and ''Sophie Gray'', the latter from a private collection, were displayed alongside each other in
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
's major exhibition of Pre-Raphaelites, ''Victorian Avant-Garde''.


Mental illness and marriage

In 1868 Gray became unwell. It is clear from letters at the time that she was suffering from
anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...
. She also became restless and obsessed with music, especially piano playing. Her speech was often incoherent. In March 1869 Millais wrote to William Holman Hunt that Gray had "been ill a whole year, and away from home, with hysteria." At the request of the Grays, Millais placed Gray at Manor Farm House, Chiswick under the care of Dr Thomas Harrington Tuke (1826–88), a leading practitioner in mental illness.''Br Med J'' 1888 June 23; 1(1434):1364 Tuke had treated Millais's friend, the painter
Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...
, and, a year or so after Gray came to him, was involved in the case of
Harriet Mordaunt Harriet Sarah, Lady Mordaunt (''née'' Moncreiffe; 7 February 1848 – 9 May 1906) was the Scottish wife of an English baronet and member of parliament, Sir Charles Mordaunt. She was the respondent in a sensational divorce case in which the Pri ...
, respondent in a scandalous divorce action. Gray lived with the family of one of Tuke's colleagues until she was well enough to move to lodgings in Hammersmith in 1869 and then back to Bowerswell in Perth. Although the state of her health fluctuated, it was to remain a problem for her and a concern to others for the rest of her life.


Marriage to James Caird

On 16 July 1873 Gray married
James Key Caird Sir James Key Caird, 1st Baronet (7 January 1837 – 9 March 1916) was a Scottish jute baron and mathematician. He was one of Dundee's most successful entrepreneurs, who used the latest technology in his Ashton and Craigie Mills. Caird was noted ...
(1837–1916), a Dundee jute manufacturer who had courted her for several years. Caird was disliked by her family, who thought him two-faced and who were still mindful of Effie's disastrous marriage to Ruskin. They would have been aware also that the port of Dundee had, for some time, been taking trade away from Perth. However, attempts to dissuade Gray from going ahead with the wedding were muted by fears of triggering a further collapse of her health. The Cairds' only child, Beatrix Ada, was born in 1874. The father was notably absent during Gray's confinement, thereby intensifying bad feeling with her family. In 1875, he forbade Gray from staying with Effie on her way to France and, generally, at a time when his business was expanding, he seems to have been both inconsiderate and uncaring towards her.


Final years

During her final years, Gray spent much of her time alone with Beatrix, mostly living between Dundee and Paris. In 1880 Millais painted a final portrait of her, which was exhibited at the new
Grosvenor Gallery The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé. The gallery proved crucial to the Aesthetic Movement because it prov ...
.
Mary Lutyens Edith Penelope Mary Lutyens (pseudonym ''Esther Wyndham''; 31 July 1908 – 9 April 1999) was a British author who is principally known for her biographical works on the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. Early life Mary Lutyens was born in L ...
wrote of it that Millais "perhaps more than anyone, knew the secrets of Sophie's short life, and in her hauntingly sad expression portrayed an old sadness of his own."Kendall Smaling Wood, Christies catalogue, ''Victorian and Traditionalist Pictures'', 2008. The portrait hung in Effie and John Everett Millais's house at Palace Gate, London, and remains in the family. By the 1880s Gray had become increasingly emaciated (the effects largely hidden from others by the weight of late Victorian clothing), and in 1882 returned to the care of Tuke. She died on 15 March 1882, aged 38. Tuke gave the cause of death as exhaustion and "atrophy of nervous system, 17 years." Rumours that Gray committed suicide have never been substantiated. Millais painted a lovely portrait of Gray's daughter, Beatrix Caird, in 1879, but she died in 1888 at age 13. James Caird subsequently used his wealth to support Ernest Shackleton's Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917, and was a significant benefactor to the city of Dundee. He became a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
in 1913.


Popular culture

In Emma Thompson's film ''
Effie Gray Euphemia Chalmers Millais, Lady Millais (''née'' Gray; 7 May 1828 – 23 December 1897) was a Scottish artists' model and the wife of Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais. She had previously been married to the art critic John Ruskin ...
'', completed in 2013, Gray is portrayed by Polly Dartford. Effie Gray is played by
Dakota Fanning Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. She rose to prominence at the age of seven for her performance as Lucy Dawson in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomin ...
.


Notes


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Sophy 1843 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Scottish women Neurological disease deaths in Scotland Deaths from anorexia nervosa Muses People associated with Dundee People from Perth, Scotland Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artists' models Scottish female models Women of the Victorian era