"Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848-1900" was initially mounted at London's Tate Britain last autumn.

WSJ: Victorian Avant-Garde | Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design | National Gallery of Art | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer

Morris was discovered by the Pre-Raphaelites, who were searching for models when painting the Oxford Union murals.

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Ironically, the best of the Pre-Raphaelites ultimately joined the Academy, including Millais, who served as its president in 1896.

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And the show's Washington curator, Diane Waggoner, has created a complementary exhibit, "Pre-Raphaelites and the Book, " highlighting their work as illustrators.

WSJ: Victorian Avant-Garde | Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design | National Gallery of Art | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer

As you enter the National Gallery's East Garden Court, a sumptuous high-Victorian atmosphere envelops you: The Pre-Raphaelites have begun their reign here.

WSJ: Victorian Avant-Garde | Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design | National Gallery of Art | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer

Notions of sentimentality have changed, but this exhibition goes far to help the uninitiated understand why and how the Pre-Raphaelites painted the way they did.

WSJ: Victorian Avant-Garde | Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design | National Gallery of Art | By Barrymore Laurence Scherer

Medievalising pre-Raphaelites and back-to-nature Impressionists seized alike on these manufactured pigments.

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