Henry Fawcett; Dame Millicent Fawcett
- Artist: Ford Madox Brown
- Date: 1872
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 42 3/4 in. x 33 in. (1086 mm x 838 mm)
- Portrays: Henry Fawcett, Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett)
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In this oil on canvas from 1872 by Ford Madox Brown you see Henry Fawcett and his wife, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, seated together at a table. The brushwork is light and precise; the colors are muted, lending an intimate atmosphere. Their faces look toward each other as if they were in conversation – one holds a piece of paper that bears both their signatures, hinting that they are drafting a letter to a newspaper.
Henry was a professor of political economy at Cambridge and a Liberal MP. He lost his sight in 1858 but continued his career with determination. His wife was a leading suffragette; she headed the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies from 1897 until women obtained their first votes in 1918.
This portrait was commissioned by Sir Charles Dilke and later shown in the “Votes for Women” exhibition, bringing this moment of collaboration into focus.
See it in person
Henry Fawcett; Dame Millicent Fawcett is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
