Elizabeth (Elizabeth Southerden Thompson) Butler

Born in Switzerland in 1846, Elizabeth Southerden Thompson later became Lady Butler after her marriage to Sir William Butler. She trained as an artist in London and Florence, and first won wide attention in the 1870s when her painting The Roll Call caused a sensation.

She became famous for large, vivid scenes from British military history, including the Crimean War, the Napoleonic Wars, and other campaigns. Paintings such as Scotland Forever!, The Remnants of an Army, and The Defence of Rorke's Drift were praised for their drama, detail, and strong feeling for the ordinary soldier rather than just heroic spectacle.

Lady Butler spent part of her later life in Ireland and remained active as an artist well into the late 19th century. She died in 1933, leaving behind a body of work that helped define how war was imagined in Victorian art.