MAJOR WORKS OF THE YEAR

Literary: There is no entry in DGRDW for this year, and only “The Song of the Bower” and “On Certain Elizabeth Revivals” are dated i860 in Works. In the summer and autumn, however, DGR sent the MS volume of his poems to JR and WA for their criticisms in anticipation of his plan to publish them with, or shortly after, his translations (see 6i.86n).

Artistic: With the distraction of his marriage and the persistent ill health of EES, i860 was less productive in terms of major works, but not so fallow as DGR:GPB suggests: “I am doing a big pen and ink too (classical!) but otherwise have done nothing except somewhat more to the Llandaff picture” (30). It is true, however, that pen & ink drawings dominate this year's productions. Besides the Cassandra (S.127) to which he alludes, he did two drawings for GPB - How They Met Themselves (S.118), Dr. Johnson at the Mitre (S.119) - two of Joseph Accused before Potiphar (S.122 & A) - and made a start on The Rose Garden (S.125), intended as the illustrated title page to EIP. Bonifazio's Mistress, illustrating his “St. Agnes of Intercession” (S.121), one of two watercolours commenced in 1860, was completed for GPB; the other, Sweet Tooth, was not finished until 1864. DGR also refers to a watercolour version of Mariana (43), but there is no record of it. The only finished oil of the year is the portrait of EES as Regina Cordium (S.120), inscribed on the picture, “The Queen of Hearts,” but he also began work on Burd Alane (S.144). DGR also made portraits of GBJ (S.276), Giuseppe Maenza (S.349), and ACS (S.522), all of which he retained in his possession, plus five portrait studies of Annie Miller (S.354-58).

SUMMARY OF THE YEAR'S LETTERS

Annie Miller modelling; Hogarth Club; marriage; anxiety over EES’ health; honeymoon; marriage of EBJs; MS rhymes; DGR's various pictures; goatskin jacket; instalments on Llandaff commission; house searching in Hampstead; benefit for Maenza; Red House; patrons; plan to publish photographs of his pen & ink drawings; commissions from GPB; EES in Brighton; meets Gilchrist; plans to set original poems in type; extending and renovating rooms at Chatham Place; WBS’ Border pictures; Dante translations.