author
Frederic George Stephens
1827–1907
A founding figure in the Pre-Raphaelite circle who became one of Victorian Britain’s most influential art critics, he helped shape how readers understood the art of his time. His life moved from early ambitions as a painter to decades of sharp, informed writing on artists and exhibitions.
2 Audiobooks
Gibraltar and Its Sieges, with a Description of Its Natural Features.
by Frederic George Stephens
Sir Edwin Landseer
by Frederic George Stephens
About the author
Born in London on 10 October 1827, Frederic George Stephens studied at the Royal Academy Schools, where he met artists including John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt. He became one of the original members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, though he is often described as one of its "non-artistic" members because his lasting reputation came more from criticism and writing than from painting.
An injury in childhood left him physically disabled, and over time he turned away from painting. He went on to build a major career as an art critic and journalist, writing for leading Victorian publications and becoming especially associated with The Athenaeum. His criticism helped introduce, explain, and sometimes defend important British artists for a wide reading public.
Stephens remained closely connected to the art world throughout his life as a critic, biographer, and commentator on the Pre-Raphaelites and their circle. He died in London on 9 March 1907, remembered today both as a founder of the Brotherhood and as a key voice in nineteenth-century British art writing.