Florence Claxton
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Florence Ann Claxton (26 August 1838 – 3 May 1920), later Farrington, was a British artist and humorist, most notable for her satire on the
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...
movement. Claxton also wrote and illustrated many humorous commentaries on contemporary life.


Biography

Claxton was named after the city of her birth,
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, Italy, where she was born on 26 August 1838 to painter Marshall Claxton and his wife, Sophia (''née'' Hargrave); she was baptised 2 January 1839 at St Alfege Church, Greenwich.''London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917'' She had a younger sister,
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, born three years later. Struggling as a painter, Marshall Claxton emigrated with his family in 1850 to Australia, where his brother-in-law Richard Hargrave had established himself as a settler in New South Wales. Other family members emigrated as well, including
Lawrence Hargrave Lawrence Hargrave, MRAeS, (29 January 18506 July 1915) was an Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer. He was perhaps best known for inventing the box kite, which was quickly adopted by other aircraft desig ...
, who became an aeronautical pioneer. Claxton's arrival in Sydney was celebrated in the newspapers, but he once again struggled to find the fame he desired. The family moved on yet again in 1854, this time to India. After a three-year stay, the family returned to England via Ceylon and Egypt. The experience of international travel proved to be formulative to the sisters as artists, "both expanding the geographic scope of their subject matter and equipping them with something of an outsider's perspective on Victorian society." The Claxton sisters were returned to England She was just about 20 years old when she signed an 1859 petition asking the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
to open its doors to women.Van Remoortel, Marianne, ed. "The Fine Art of Satire: Florence and Adelaide Claxton and the Magazines." In ''Women, Work and the Victorian Periodical: Living by the Press''. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp. 92–114. Her father trained Florence and her sister in his craft; Florence travelled with her father to Australia, India, and Egypt in the years from 1850 to 1857, while he searched for employment. In the later 1850s both sisters found work in the production of engravings for the popular press. In 1860, Florence illustrated ''Married Off: A Satirical Poem'', by "H. B." In 1858, Florence exhibited her painting ''Scenes from the Life of a Female Artist'' in the second annual show of the Society of Women Artists. In the following year, 1859, she signed a petition advocating the admission of women to the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
Schools, and exhibited her ''Scenes of Life of an Old Maid'' in the
Society of Women Artists The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell ...
show. In 1864, the sisters were apparently sharing a home together in London, but their paths separated. On 1 June 1868, Florence married Ernest Farrington, a French photographer and engineer, in Paris. Little is known of their married life, but Florence claimed to have lived in Monaco for some years. There were no children from the marriage and she was widowed likely by 1881, when she was back living alone with her father in London. Florence did not remarry and was later estranged from her sister. She continued to work as an illustrator and artist. On 3 May 1920, at her home, Grafton House in
Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The neighbouring resort of Shanklin and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake are sited just to the south of t ...
, Isle of Wight, she died by suicide by taking a fatal overdose of veronal "in a carefully planned suicide."


''The Choice of Paris''

Claxton's best-known work is ''The Choice of Paris: An Idyll'' (c. 1860), a satire on, and parody of, the works of the Pre-Raphaelite artists of the previous years. The painting is patterned after
William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...
's '' A Converted British Family sheltering a Christian Missionary from the persecution of the Druids'', and combines caricatures of many of the main figures of the movement, including
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...
and Sir
John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...
, with figures of popular culture like
P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding with James Anthony Bailey the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was ...
, and allusions to the great artists of the past. It depicts Millais in the role of Paris, offering the golden apple to a scrawny-looking medieval woman, ignoring a Raphael madonna (copied from ''The Marriage of the Virgin'') and a modern woman in
crinoline A crinoline is a stiff or structured petticoat designed to hold out a skirt, popular at various times since the mid-19th century. Originally, crinoline described a stiff fabric made of horsehair ("crin") and cotton or linen which was used to ...
s. The painting also includes parodies of other Pre-Raphaelite works, including Millais' '' Sir Isumbras at the Ford'', ''Spring: Apple Blossoms'' and ''The Vale of Rest''. It also caricatures Calderon's ''Broken Vows'' and Windus's ''Burd Helen''. The picture was reproduced as a full-page wood-engraving by the ''
Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...
'' on 2 June 1860.


Other works

Other examples of Claxton's works were also reproduced in newspapers of the day. In ''Utopian Christmas'', reproduced in the ''Illustrated London News'' of 24 December 1859, the poor - barefooted and raggedly-dressed - are shown feasting at a lavish banquet and being served and entertained by the rich - depicted as generals, nobles, and finely-dressed ladies. Other works by Claxton include ''Women's Work: A Medley'' (1861) and ''Scenes from the Life of a Governess'' (1863). ''Women's Work'' may have been a feminist riposte to
Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth, Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his mos ...
's painting ''Work'', which focused on men's labors but neglected women. Florence Claxton married a "Mr. Farrington, of Romsey," in 1868, but continued to work and exhibit at least sporadically afterward. Claxton also wrote humorous skits on
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
and women's rights, most notably in ''The Adventures of a Woman in Search of her Rights'', a story in cartoon form. In the book, a young woman falls in love with a dashing youth, but her parents do not approve and her lover leaves. She decides to pursue her rights. She loses her looks through the study of
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...
and; now made ugly, she pursues various careers, becoming a lawyer, a politician and a doctor, but eventually fails in all of her pursuits. She finally emigrates to the United States and marries
Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
, the
polygamous Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more than one h ...
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
leader. In the end, it turns out to have been all a dream and she ends with the words "thank goodness it's only a midsummer night's dream and I'm not emancipated."Florence Claxton, ''The Adventures of a Woman in Search of her Rights'', London, The Graphotyping Co., 1872.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Florence Ann English women painters 1838 births English satirists 19th-century English women artists 1920 deaths Artists who died by suicide Drug-related suicides in England British women satirists 1920 suicides Barbiturates-related deaths English humorists British women humorists