The Croppie’s Grave

The rosary held by the girl in this painting indicates it could be one of Anthony’s Irish scenes of the 1840s. The Croppies were Irish Rebels of 1798 who sympathised with the principles of the French Revolution. Their name derived from their short hair. Manchester-born Anthony was an associate of the Pre-Raphaelites. He won the Liverpool Academy’s £50 prize for best picture in 1854 with his painting Nature’s Mirror.