13th August 1896

Painter John Everett Millais dies

Although born in Southampton, John Everett Millais was of Jersey stock, and he spent much of his childhood in the island before moving to Brittany with his family. Eventually they relocated to London, largely because Millais’ mother believed that the English capital would be the best place for her son to develop his artistic skills.

Royal Academy student

He was accepted to study at the Royal Academy aged just 11, and from there his reputation only grew – as did his body of work. His paintings are now exhibited in museums and galleries including Tate Britain and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

One such painting was The Order of Release, produced in the early 1850s and now held by Tate Britain, for whom critic John Ruskin’s wife modelled. She and Millais fell in love during the painting sessions, and she subsequently divorced Ruskin so they could marry.

Despite living in London for much of his life, Millais remained fiercely loyal to Jersey and, in 1885, Queen Victoria made him baronet of Saint Ouen. Just over ten years later he was elected President of the Royal Academy but died of cancer soon after. He was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral.