Amelia undertook a five-day curatorial research micro-internship in June 2025, hosted by the University of Oxford National Trust Partnership team and co-supervised by National Trust.
During my internship in partnership with the National Trust, I had the opportunity to delve into the life of Georgina Holme-Sumner (1835-1912), a former resident of Hatchlands Park. What began as a local history project quickly unfolded into a fascinating exploration of one woman’s quiet yet striking role in the cultural life of Victorian Britain. This allowed me to draw broader conclusions about the potential for female agency within artistic spheres in 19th-century high society.
Hatchlands Park, an elegant Georgian mansion nestled amidst the leafy green Surrey countryside, was home to Georgina and her husband, Arthur Holme-Sumner, from 1860 to 1869. While Georgina’s time there is often eclipsed by the more documented lives of her descendants, particularly that of her controversial daughter Beatrice, I was able to paint a far more colourful picture by looking beyond domestic narratives. Contemporary newspaper records show Georgina as an active and influential figure in philanthropic and social life: she was a patroness of a Surrey hospital and distributed prizes at local agricultural shows. Both she and her husband moved in elite circles and posed for society photographs, glimpses of which suggest a woman who was engaged and present in her community.
However, the most compelling phase of my research emerged when I followed Georgina beyond the gates of Hatchlands and into the world of Pre-Raphaelite art. Through reading the letters of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, I was able to trace Georgina’s vibrant presence in Victorian artistic circles, revealing a woman who moved dynamically among the artists, patrons and muses of the age.
Georgina first met Rossetti in 1876 at Broadlands, the Hampshire estate of the Cowper-Temples, prominent philanthropists and benefactors of the arts. Rossetti wrote fondly of Georgina, calling her “one of the most beautiful women I ever saw” and praising her intelligence and cheerfulness. She became one of his preferred sitters, and her striking features inspired works including his painting Domizia Scaligera. Her image, Rossetti remarked, evoked an “antique Roman type” – an Agrippina or Cornelia.
Georgina’s ties extended beyond Rossetti. Through the Cowper-Temples and others, Georgina came into contact with figures including the poet Christina Rossetti, literary writer Theodore Watts-Dunton and illustrator Frederic Shields. She wasn’t merely a passive subject but an enthusiastic patron and advocate for new and experimental forms of art, including the work of pioneering female photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, who photographed Georgina in her distinctive soft-focus style in the 1860s.
Perhaps the most resonant discovery of all came in the Spirits of Prison painting by Emily Ford, a suffragist and artist who merged religious iconography with feminist symbolism. In this 1891 panel, Georgina appears alongside other influential women – Lady Mount Temple, Emelia Russel Gurney, and Ford herself – immortalised as guiding spirits. Her inclusion affirms her influence not just as a socialite or model but as a respected figure within a network of women reshaping Victorian culture from within.
This project allowed me to see Georgina Holme-Sumner not as a peripheral figure but as part of a broader and underappreciated tapestry of female influence in Victorian art. We should highlight not only the male figureheads of artistic revolutions, but also the agency of the women who lived amidst cultural change and facilitated its development. Tracing Georgina’s story reveals that behind the canvas, Victorian visionaries shaped, supported and participated in artistic and political dialogues that would echo well into the 20th century.
Amelia Ross is a 2nd year undergraduate studying History at Merton College. She specialises in modern global and international history. Alongside her studies, she has a passion for music and the arts. Her internship in partnership with the National Trust has shown her the importance of sharing heritage in more accessible and exciting ways with wider audiences.
