Portrait of William Michael Rossetti

About the Artwork

The youngest of four children in the artistic Rossetti family, Christina Rossetti lived on the periphery of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, occasionally modeling for her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and submitting her poetry to the brotherhood’s journal, The Germ. Before achieving acclaim as a poet with works such as Goblin Market and Monna Innominata, she briefly considered pursuing a career as an artist. This portrait of her brother William is one of her few surviving drawings. In the spare profile, the figure’s eyes are downcast, as though reading or in private reverie, perhaps in reference to William’s work as a man of letters.

Inscriptions

signed and inscribed, in graphite, at lower left: CGR William

Exhibition history

British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2013).

Quick Overview

Artist: Christina Georgina Rossetti (British, 1830–1894)
Date: c. 1853
Medium: graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 17.9 x 12.8 cm (7 1/16 x 5 1/16 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession no.: 2010.462

Provenance

William Michael Rossetti, by descent 2010: (sale, Christie's, London, December 15, 2010, no. 13, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH) 2010-: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.