George Frederic Watts (1817–1904) was one of the most influential artists of Victorian Britain, celebrated for both painting and sculpture. Born in London, he showed artistic talent early and trained through study of classical art rather than long formal academy instruction. A prize-winning mural design helped fund travel to Italy, where Renaissance art deeply shaped his ambition to create work with moral and universal meaning. \n\nAlthough he painted portraits of many prominent figures of his age, Watts became especially admired for symbolic and allegorical subjects that explored love, death, hope, justice, humanity, and the spiritual struggles of modern life. His art aimed to speak beyond fashion or status, and he often described his work as part of a larger human conversation. \n\nWatts moved in the intellectual and artistic circles of Victorian England and became a major public figure. In later life, he settled in Compton, Surrey, with Mary Watts, where their vision helped establish Watts Gallery. His legacy endures through emotionally charged imagery, idealism, and a belief that art could elevate public thought as well as private feeling, inspiring generations of artists, writers, and museum audiences worldwide while encouraging reflection on ethics and society in Britain and far beyond it.