Phyllis
A subject taken from Greek mythology, Phyllis is represented as suffering great sadness after being abandoned by her new husband Demophon. One version of the story tells how Phylllis began to pine and wither while waiting for her lover and finally died of sorrow. However, the gods wanted to save her and so turned her into an almond tree so that she could continue to wait for her lover. The almond tree became a symbol of love and eternal hope.
Louise Jopling (née Goode, also Romer and later Rowe) was an English painter, and one of the most prominent female artists of her generation. As a renowned beauty she also modelled for others, including Millais and Whistler.
Born in Manchester, Louise Jopling studied art in Paris under the romantic portrait and landscape painter Charles Chaplin from 1867-68. She went on to develop a lengthy professional career as an artist, and painted portraits, figure compositions, interiors, landscape and genre scenes. From the late 1860s, she exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon.
Jopling was a campaigner for the rights of women, including access to art training and for women’s suffrage. She was a member of the London artistic circle which included Millais, Whistler, Oscar Wilde, Henry Irving and Ellen Terry.
