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Sir John Everett Millais, Bt  1829-1896

Sir John Everett Millais, Bt The Order of Release 1746 1852-3
The Order of Release 1746  1852-3

Oil on canvas
support: 1029 x 737 mm frame: 1505 x 1210 x 125 mm
painting

Presented by Sir Henry Tate 1898

N01657

This picture shows the release of a Jacobite soldier, imprisoned by the English after the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army at the battle of Culloden in 1746. The Jacobite’s wife hands an order of release to the gaoler.Millais based the figure of the woman on his wife, Effie. He was very interested in female psychology and the woman’s detached gaze suggests her quiet determination.

 (From the display caption July 2007)