Curator's Choice: A Jersey Lily
Millais, John Everett, 1829–1896
Born at the Old Rectory in St Saviour’s, Jersey, and nicknamed ‘The Jersey Lily’, Lillie Langtry went on to become a great society beauty, a well-known actress and a royal mistress.
Renowned Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir John Everett Millais depicts her here in the black, lace-trimmed dress she became known for, and holding what was in fact a Guernsey lily.
One of the most celebrated works of its day, a policeman was assigned to guard the painting when displayed at the Royal Academy in 1878, as crowds thronged to see it.