Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882, Dante Gabriel Rossetti letter to Ellen Heaton, 1856 March 12
- Call Number:
- MSS 47
- Creator:
- Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882
- Title(s):
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti letter to Ellen Heaton
- Date:
- 1856 March 12
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Part of Collection:
- Box 1, folder 56.12
- Provenance:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, The material passed from Ellen Heaton to her nephew John Heaton, and subsequently to his brother Beresford Heaton, then to Katherine Ogilvy Heaton, and finally to Elizabeth Maud Sackville Robertson. Sold at auction, Christie, Manson & Woods, July 16, 1969 (see catalog entry no. 117).
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The materials are open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- The collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Archives Department.
- Scope and Content:
- Rossetti tells Heaton that he is happy to make any changes she wishes to her commissioned drawing (<title>Rachel and Leah</title>) and instructs her on how to send it back to him. Rossetti admits he received Heaton's papers from Leeds but that he hadn't wanted to reply until he had some further information regarding her commission. Rossetti explains that he is more than half way towards completing a work depicting Dante's dream of Beatrice lying dead. He mentions that Ruskin has seen the partially completed piece and "seemed much pleased with it." Rossetti quotes the lines from Dante's <title>Vita Nuova</title> which inspire the piece and describes the work in detail, stating that "it is in every respect a much better drawing than [<title>Rachel and Leah</title>].". Rossetti admits that because the <title>Rachel and Leah</title> piece was commissioned, the subject "never interested" him. He tells Heaton that, as the work is now larger than first intended, the price will be 50 guineas but that he understands if Heaton cannot now purchase the work, the price being 10 guineas higher than previously agreed. Rossetti goes on to justify the price by saying that it is the usual asking price for his works and that Ruskin commissioned a much smaller piece from him for the same sum. Rossetti asks, if Heaton still wishes to commission the piece, to send him £20 "on account of it" or, if she no longer wants the work, to let him know as soon as is possible.
- Additional Notes:
- Addressed from 14 Chatham Place, Blackfriars Bridge.
- Physical Description:
- 2 folded sheets (4, and 3 pages) : autograph letter signed ; 18 x 23 cm, folded to 18 x 12 cm
- Genre:
- Correspondence
- Subject Terms:
- ArtArt appreciationCollectors and collectingPaintersPainting, BritishPhotographyRossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882. Dante's vision of Rachel and LeahRossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882. Dante’s dream at the time of the death of Beatrice
- Subject Period:
- 19th century
- Associated Places:
- Great Britain
- Associated People/Groups:
- Heaton, Ellen, 1816-1894Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882Ruskin, John, 1819-1900
- Finding Aid Title:
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti Letters to Ellen Heaton
- Collection PDF:
- https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/5859.pdf
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/2369894
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/2369894?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1