Biography

Francis Elswood Rowley (nee Richards, 1852-1934), was a native of Brockville Ontario. She trained at the Academie Julian in Paris and exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1883. Among her many government commissions was the official portrait of her uncle, The Hon. Sir William Buell Richards, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Her admirers included the Marquis de Lorne, Governor-General of Canada, and son-in-law to Queen Victoria (through his marriage to Princess Louise). She moved in the artistic circles of Paris and London and became very close friends with Oscar Wilde. She painted his portrait. London's Pall Mall Gazette reported that upon seeing it, Wilde said, “What a tragic thing it is. This portrait will never grow older and I shall. If only it was the other way!” The St. James Gazette later said that the revelation inspired him to write his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. ¹

A more detailed biography of Francis Rowley can be accessed here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Richards_(Canadian_artist) (last accessed June 17, 2020)

1. St. James Gazette, September 24, 1890.

Lifetime

1853 – 1934