Sir John Everett Millais, Bt., P.R.A., ca. 1884

From: Joseph Parkin Mayall

RA Collection: Art

Millais is presented in the impressive studio of his Kensington home, which was built especially for him. The photograph was published in the book Artists at Home: Photographed by J.P. Mayall with text by F.G. Stephens. Most of the images in this series show artists amongst their work. Millais’ work doesn’t appear here but an easel and empty frames are behind him. His opulent surroundings and confident pose demonstrate the status he had achieved.

In the book Stephens enthusiastically describes Millais as "a prodigy in childhood, as a youth the most prominent leader in a movement which worked wonders in the practice of art, a member of the Academy when some of his contemporaries were still in the schools, Millais is one of the few living men whose pictures appeal to us from the level of the great ancient masters".