CFP: Queering the Pre-Raphaelites

Queering the Pre-Raphaelites

In advance of the first US exhibition on Anglo-Jewish artist Simeon Solomon (1840–1905), opening March 2027 at the Delaware Art Museum, we invite papers that “queer” the Pre-Raphaelites, their associates, and their followers. Solomon rose to prominence in the early 1860s with Old Testament scenes that critics believed he was uniquely suited to produce because of his Jewish faith. By the mid-1860s, he also pictured same-sex passion. Solomon has long been cast as one of the few artists in the movement to challenge heterosexual norms. However, scholars are increasingly revisiting the movement with queer critical frameworks, drawing attention to gender nonconformity, homoeroticism, and queerness long overlooked. For example, the oeuvres of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, and Evelyn De Morgan are among those who have been studied anew. The Pre-Raphaelite canon is rich with bodies that resist stable gender norms, images that privilege homosocial or homoerotic bonds, and figures that unsettle the heterosexual male gaze.

This panel seeks to explore queer presence and perspectives within the work and world of the Pre-Raphaelites. We welcome diverse approaches to queer frameworks, as well as papers on both understudied and well-known artists and works. Contributors might consider:

• Homosocial networks and affective bonds across Pre-Raphaelite generations
• Queer materialities in Pre-Raphaelite art: surface, texture and the sensuous object
• Archival absences and the challenge of recovering queer lives
• Cross-dressing, costume, and theatricality in Pre-Raphaelite imagery
• Reception histories: Queer readings then and now
• The politics of scandal, censorship and reputation

Keywords:
Geographic Area: United States of America
Geographic Area: British Isles and Ireland
Time Period: Nineteenth Century
Topics: Gender and Sexualities
Topics: Queer Studies

Chairs:
Katherine Feldkamp, Delaware Art Museum and Alexandra Earl, University of Delaware

The deadline for submissions is August 31, and the portal can be found through this link.