Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s 1877 portrait of his sister, poet Christina Rossetti, shown publicly for the first time

The portrait of Christina Rossetti by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti. ©
National Trust/Libby Taylor

A portrait of the poet Christina Rossetti, created in 1877 by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti, has been acquired by the National Trust and will go on public display for the first time at Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton starting March 7th.

The portrait will be the centerpiece of a new exhibition, The Rossettis – Siblings and Spouses which explores the creative world of one of Victorian Britain’s most talented families.

Portrait of Jane Burden, Mrs William Morris, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. ©
National Trust/Libby Taylor

Created in colored chalks, the portrait of Christina offers an unusually subdued and contemplative vision of her – far removed from the ethereal, idealized figures that defined Rossetti’s Pre-Raphaelite style. In this portrait, Christina is 46 years old and in full mourning, painted the year after their older sister Maria died.

The artwork is both a tribute by the artist to his famous poet sister, and a reflection of their shared grief. With its muted palette and Christina’s averted gaze, the portrait captures a woman whose life and writing shaped the emotional core of the Pre‑Raphaelite movement. It is a deeply personal image: an artist portraying not a muse, but a sister, collaborator, and intellectual equal. The portrait was created on the north Kent coast at a time when Dante Gabriel Rossetti was struggling with serious depression and chloral addiction. Earlier that summer, he had suffered a severe breakdown, and his doctor, John Marshall, prescribed a change of scenery and an order to leave London.

Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) remains one of the most influential poets of the 19th century. Her work – most famously Goblin Market – continues to be studied in schools and universities, celebrated for its exploration of sisterhood, temptation, and resilience. Her poem In the Bleak Midwinter has become a beloved Christmas carol, sung around the world.

Her writing was shaped by a life lived with unusual independence and moral clarity. She spent a decade volunteering at St Mary Magdalene Penitentiary in Highgate, supporting women on the margins of Victorian society, and twice refused marriage proposals, choosing instead a life guided by faith, family, and creative purpose.

“The Rossetti household was a crucible of artistic and intellectual energy. Dante Gabriel was a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Christina brought literary distinction to the movement; and their siblings William Michael and Maria contributed scholarship and criticism.”

Helen Bratt-Wyton, property experience curator at Wightwick Manor said: “The Rossetti household was a crucible of artistic and intellectual energy. Dante Gabriel was a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Christina brought literary distinction to the movement; and their siblings William Michael and Maria contributed scholarship and criticism. The portrait of Christina is thoughtful, private, and quietly powerful. It shows a woman who had lived, worked, sacrificed and endured, and whose poetry continues to resonate today. Yet it also reflects a shared world – that of a family bound by creativity, radical ideas, and deep affection.”

The exhibition The Rossettis – Siblings and Spouses will explore the family’s creative and domestic life, shining a particular spotlight on the women of the Rossetti circle, with rarely displayed works by Elizabeth Siddal and Lucy Madox Brown.

Portrait of Lucy Madox Brown. © National Trust/John Pittwood

Early drawings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti are also on display, created between the ages of 14 and 18, including early experiments in lithography; a set of satirical political playing cards, influenced by popular Punch cartoons, features his take on subjects like the Duke of Wellington and Prince Albert.

Objects from his former home at Cheyne Walk in London will also be on display, including books, ceramics, and a death mask of Napoleon Bonaparte – a figure who particularly fascinated him.

Wightwick Manor. © National Trust Images/ Chris Lacey

Hannah Squire, co-curator of the exhibition adds: “Wightwick Manor has a close connection to the Rossetti family. Lady Mander, who donated the house to the National Trust in 1937 with Sir Geoffrey Mander, actively collected Rossetti works, wrote a groundbreaking book on Dante Gabriel and developed friendships with Rossetti descendants. So, it is wonderful to be able to share with visitors some of the latest research and newly displayed artworks that showcase the enormous creativity of the family at the heart of the Pre-Raphaelites.”