Painting and Drawing Society Annual Meeting

John Everett Millais’s painting Ophelia (1851–52) has become a ubiquitous icon of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Visual quotations of Ophelia still haunt popular culture well into the 21st century, resurfacing everywhere from Vogue fashion spreads to Taylor Swift music videos. Ophelia attests to Millais’s act of artistic environmental witness inspired by the nascent ecological activism of art critic John Ruskin. Ophelia has also been discussed from a feminist perspective through its depiction of the archetypal Victorian fallen woman, cast out from society by perceived sexual transgression resulting in her drowning death. However, the role of a secondary figure in the painting is rarely, if ever, acknowledged. Perched on a branch at the far-left edge of the canvas, a small European robin (Erithacus rubecula) opens its beak to join Ophelia in her elegiac song before she is pulled beneath the water by the weight of her ornate embroidered dress. The sole witness to her tragic plight, this robin serves not only as interlocutor and surrogate but also as a crucial and equally vulnerable part of the fragile native aquatic ecosystem.  

This talk by Dr. Andrea Wolk Rager examines Millais’s choice to include the robin, exploring the wider symbolic role of this diminutive but deeply cherished bird in British culture, from Shakespeare to rural folklore. Moreover, Dr. Rager places Millais’s Ophelia in dialogue with emerging theories of ecocriticism and animal studies, as well as new research in acoustic ecologies that elucidate the importance of appreciating avian soundscapes as part of biodiverse environments.  

A seated dinner follows the talk in the CMA’s banquet room. 

This event is for members of the Painting and Drawing Society only. Eligible members receive an invitation via email.