Watts, George Frederick 1817-1904
English painter

Born in London, he formed his style after the Venetian masters and first attracted notice by his cartoon of Caractacus (1843) in the competition for murals for the new Houses of Parliament. He became known for his penetrating portraits of notabilities, 150 of which he presented to the National Portrait Gallery in 1904. These represent his best work, but in his lifetime his moral and allegorical pieces enjoyed enormous popularity, and monochrome reproductions of Paolo and Francesca, Sir Galahad, Love Triumphant, Hope and so on adorned the walls of countless late Victorian middle-class homes. He also executed some sculpture, including Physical Energy (Kensington Gardens). In 1864 he married Ellen Terry, but parted from her within a year.