George Frederic Watts (1817–1904) was one of the great artists of the 19th century, known at the time as ‘England’s Michelangelo’. As a young man he exhibited alongside Turner, and by the end of his long career he was influential upon Picasso. Sculptor, portraitist and creator of classic Symbolist imagery, Watts was seen also as more than an artist – a philanthropic visionary whose art charted the progress of humanity in the modern world. Covering all aspects of Watts’s career, this book places him back at the centre of the visual culture of the 19th century.

Nicholas Tromans is the curator of the Watts Gallery (UK).