John William Waterhouse
John William Waterhouse RA (6 April 1849 – 10 February 1917) was an English painter known for working first in the Academic style and for then embracing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s style and subject matter. His artworks were known for their depictions of women from both ancient Greek mythology and Arthurian legend.
Born in Rome to English parents who were both painters, Waterhouse later moved to London, where he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Art. He soon began exhibiting at their annual summer exhibitions, focusing on the creation of large canvas works depicting scenes from the daily life and mythology of ancient Greece. Many of his paintings are based on authors such as Homer, Ovid, Shakespeare, Tennyson, or Keats.
In January 2018, Manchester Art Gallery curator Clare Gannaway temporarily removed the painting from public display, after a decision “taken by gallery staff [along] with artist Sonia Boyce.” The decision, the curator stated, was “influenced by recent movements against the objectification and exploitation of women” such as the MeToo campaign and the Presidents Club controversy. She denied the removal constituted any form of censorship, stating, “we want to see this as the start of a process, not an end point,” and providing visitors with Post-It notes to air their views; meantime, postcards of the painting were removed from the gift shop.