Elizabeth Barrett Browning
(1806-1861), Poet; wife of Robert BrowningEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 7 portraits
A poet highly regarded in her own day, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s reputation now rests chiefly on Sonnets from the Portuguese, plus the long narrative poem ‘Aurora Leigh’. During her lifetime, she was also known for her anti-slavery poetry. Both sides of Browning’s family owned slaves with her grandfathers on each side being slave-owners. The knowledge that her ancestors had taken part in the trade of enslaved Africans deeply affected her and she called their complicity in the slave trade a ‘curse’. After eloping with the poet Robert Browning, she lived chiefly in Italy.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Robert Browning
by Harriet Goodhue Hosmer
bronze cast of clasped hands, 1853
NPG 3165
by Michele Gordigiani
oil on canvas, 1858
NPG 1899
by Field Talfourd
chalk, 1859
NPG 322
Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning; Elizabeth Barrett Browning
by Fratelli D'Alessandri
albumen carte-de-visite, 19 June 1860
NPG P1094
by Elliott & Fry, after Macaire
albumen carte-de-visite, mid 1860s (September 1858)
NPG x136269
by Waterlow & Sons Ltd, after Field Talfourd
albumen card photograph, 1890s (1859)
NPG x136270
by William Wright, after Field Talfourd
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1889 (1859)
NPG x136271
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