author
Mrs. Russell Barrington
1841–1933
A Victorian writer with a strong eye for art and biography, she moved easily between literature, painting, and public cultural life. Best known under the name Mrs. Russell Barrington, she helped preserve the world around Frederic Leighton while writing books of her own.
2 Audiobooks
The life, letters and work of Frederic Leighton. Volume I
by Mrs. Russell Barrington
The life, letters and work of Frederic Leighton. Volume II
by Mrs. Russell Barrington
About the author
Born Emilie Isabel Wilson in London in 1841, she was the daughter of James Wilson, founder of The Economist. After marrying Russell Barrington in 1868, she published as Mrs. Russell Barrington and built a varied career as a biographer, novelist, and artist.
She is especially remembered for writing about major cultural figures, including G. F. Watts and Frederic Leighton. Her life was closely tied to the artistic circles of Holland Park, and she played an important part in the early history of Leighton House, helping to preserve it after Leighton's death.
Barrington was also active beyond the page: sources describe her as a co-founder of the Kyrle Society and as someone deeply involved in the cultural and philanthropic life of late Victorian London. She died in 1933, leaving behind work that sits at the meeting point of literature, art history, and social reform.