Charles Fairfax Murray

Booknews

Murray (1849-1919) was a painter, dealer, connoisseur, collector, and benefactor. He was friends with William Morris, the Rossettis, and Edward Burne-Jones and protege to John Ruskin. Elliot, a descendent, presents the first biography of the little known figure, exploiting his access to papers on both sides of the family and archives in Britain, Europe, and America. Co-published with The Book Guild. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

David Elliot as written a superbly researched and presented biography of Charles Fairfax Murray, perhaps the least known of all the Pre-Raphaelite painters who was the friend of William Morris, the Rossettis, Edward Burne-Jones, and a prot‚g‚ of John Ruskin. A man who prized his privacy, Murray deliberately sought anonymity, left no memoir, and his diaries revealed very little about himself as he served his friends as a supporter, confidante, and adjutant ranging from adding miniatures to Morris' illuminated manuscripts to serving as a copyist for Ruskin. Murray's spheres of activity also came to include collecting, dealing, museology, and art-historical scholarship. A grandson of Murray, biographer David Elliot is able to offer a wealth of insights into Murray's personal and professional life as revealed by papers on both sides of the family, as well as diligently and painstaking research through the archives of Britain, Europe, and America. Charles Fairfax Murray is a magnificent and much appreciated contribution to students of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and those associated with it.