Portrait of Louisa Ruth Herbert
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was an English-Italian poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais.
This is an oval-shaped painting on wood panel, showing a full-face portrait of the actress, Louisa Ruth Herbert (1831-1921), looking to the left and holding a sprig in her hand. Louisa Ruth Herbert was born in Bristol, had a successful stage career and also managed St James's Theatre in London from 1864 to 1868. She sat for Rossetti often between 1858 and 1860.