A painting a day · No. 31 of 38
The Lady of Shalott
John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
1888 · Oil on canvas · Tate Britain, London
The story
From Tennyson's poem. Under a curse, the Lady may see the world only in a mirror. She looks out at Sir Lancelot, leaves her tower and floats down the river towards Camelot, knowing she will die.
Look closer
- Three candles on the boat. Two have blown out.
- The tapestry she wove in the tower trails in the water.
- Her mouth is open: she is singing her last song.
Did you know
Sir Henry Tate — the sugar merchant who founded the Tate — gave it to the nation in 1894.
Why we can show it
John William Waterhouse died in 1917. UK copyright lasts for the artist’s life plus 70 years, so even under today’s rules this painting would have been free for anyone to show since 1988. The photograph is a faithful copy of a flat work, which creates no new copyright. We do not store the picture: it comes from Wikimedia Commons each time it is needed. More on this.