Lady in medieval dress at her toilette

Although Rheam was part of the artistic community based in Newlyn, Cornwall, his style and subject matter were never characteristic of his peers. He tended to follow the principles of the Pre-Raphaelites, and the present painting is a typical example of this. The model is likely to have been Rheam's wife Alice Elliot. She appears in many of his works, most notably The Fairy Woods, which was sold in these Rooms, 1996, (£55,000).