Biography for Rosa Brett

Employment

Painter. Daughter of an army surgeon, she was largely self-taught. Brett produced oils and watercolours for exhibition throughout her life, but never gained a reputation. Her brother John (1831-1902) was the well-known Pre-Raphaelite landscape painter.

Brett's first exhibit The Hayloft (1858) was shown under the masculine pseudonym Rosarius, which she used until 1862. Brett spent limited time in the company of other artists in London. This may have been because of her domestic duties (she was an unmarried daughter), which contributed to her marginalised position as an artist.