Thomas Matthews Rooke RWS 1842-1942. British School. Oil on canvas. Portrait of a young woman possibly Frances Alexandra Jones. 29.5 by 34.2 cms image. 47 by 52 cms framed overall. There is an overpainted inscription to the top edge of the canvas with sitters details. Monogrammed and dated lower right 1881. Provenance: with David Hughes London ca.1980. Private Collection UK.
Thomas Matthews Rooke was a painter of architectural, biblical,landscape and portrait subjects. Closely associated with Ruskin, Burne-Jones and William Morris and much influenced by them. This particular gem of a portrait to me bridges the intense spirituality of the early Pre-Raphaelites and the Aesthetic Movement.