Lot 352: Alexander Munro (British, 1825-1871) Josephine

Alexander Munro (British, 1825-1871) Josephine Elizabeth Butler (nee Grey) oval plaster relief, with morning glory entwined within her hair, incised with monogram, white painted plaster 21" x 16". Josephine Butler (1828-1906) was a Victorian feminist and social reformer in the cause of women. She led the fight against the white slave trade and the campaign for the repeal of the Contagious Disease Acts in Britain and internationally between 1869 to 1886. She and her husband first met Munro in Oxford when he was preparing statues for the Oxford Museum around 1855 and this depiction of Josephine Butler probably dates from around this time. Another copy of this portrait relief can be found in the Walker Art Gallery and is one of only two or three examples known. See Mary Bennett, Artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Circle: The First Generation, National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Lund Humphries, p.165, no. 9026.