Paper

Student Artwork Guide

Phyllis

Arthur Hughes

Name Class Date
Arthur Hughes, Phyllis. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Arthur Hughes artsdot.com/en/artists/arthur-hughes/
Artist’s dates
1832 – 1915
Movement
Pre-Raphaelites British painters returning to bright colour and sharp detail, rejecting everything taught after Raphael.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Arthur Hughes died in 1915; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1985.

Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

Phyllis — Arthur Hughes Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Phyllis — Arthur Hughes

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1830
  2. 1840
  3. 1850
  4. 1860
  5. 1870
  6. 1880
  7. 1890
  8. 1900
  9. 1910

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 83 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of Arthur Hughes (1832–1915) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1856 Main working years: 1856–1872 Late works: from 1872

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: artsdot.com/en/art/similar/arthur-hughes-phyllis-8DP2WF-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Driftwood #ba9557

    Catalogued palette

    • #BA9557
    • #3B3127
    • #E7D3A7
    • #786041

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Earthy The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Driftwood
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Bold How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Strong Color Unity How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Balanced How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Arthur Hughes over the last twelve months — 7 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 69.7%
    2. 2 United States of America 12.1%
    3. 3 Laos 6.1%
    4. 4 Spain 3.0%
    5. 5 Italy 3.0%
    6. 6 Japan 3.0%
    7. 7 Singapore 3.0%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Arthur Hughes

    1. 1 La Belle Dame Sans Merci, 1861 9.8%
    2. 2 A Music Party, 1861 7.3%
    3. 3 Phyllis this painting 7.3%
    4. 4 The Eve of St Agnes, 1856 4.9%
    5. 5 April Love, 1855 4.9%
    6. 6 The Pained Heart (aka Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more'')'', 1867 4.9%
    7. 7 A Birthday Picnic 4.9%
    8. 8 Benedick in the Arbor 4.9%
    9. 9 Godrevy Light 4.9%
    10. 10 Wonderland (later version), 1912 2.4%
    11. 11 Ophelia (And will he not come again.'')'', 1863 2.4%
    12. 12 Overthrowing of the Rusty Knight, 1894 2.4%
    13. 13 the pained heart 2.4%
    14. 14 Good Night (later version), 1865 2.4%
    15. 15 The Sailing Signal Gun 2.4%
    16. 16 The Knight Of The Sun 2.4%
    17. 17 Mrs. Grant Duff and Adrian 2.4%
    18. 18 Dark thoughts 2.4%
    19. 19 Caedmon's Awakening 2.4%
    20. 20 Asleep in the Woods 2.4%

    Together these works take 80.2% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 118 works by this artist, of which 28 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 3 of them, with 7.3% of that attention. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Phyllis — Arthur Hughes Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Arthur Hughes

    Born in Pimlico, United Kingdom

    early life and training

    arthur hughes, a british painter and illustrator associated with the pre-raphaelite brotherhood, was born in london on january 27, 1832. in 1846, he entered the art school at somerset house, where his first master was alfred stevens. later, he attended the royal academy schools, where he met john everett millais and holman hunt, becoming a part of the pre-raphaelite group of painters.

    notable works and style

    hughes' first picture, musidora, was exhibited at the royal academy when he was just 17. he continued to contribute to the royal academy and later to the grosvenor and new gallery exhibitions almost annually. his best-known works include april love and the long engagement, which depict troubled couples contemplating the transience of love and beauty, inspired by john everett millais's earlier "couple" paintings.

    personal life and legacy

    in 1855, hughes married tryphena foord, who was his model for april love. he died in kew green, london, on december 22, 1915, leaving behind approximately 700 known paintings and drawings, along with over 750 book illustrations. his daughter, emily, had to destroy his preparatory sketches and private papers due to a shortage of space after her mother's death in 1921.

    artistic style and influences

    magical, glowing coloring and delicate draughtsmanship characterize hughes' works. he was also influenced by the writer george macdonald, for whom he illustrated some books, and produced numerous illustrations for norman macleod's monthly magazine, good words.

    view more of arthur hughes' artworks on AllPaintingsStore

    read more about arthur hughes on wikipedia

    explore the timeline of art movements to understand the context of pre-raphaelite art

    key works and exhibitions

    - april love, 1855 (exhibited at grosvenor gallery) - the long engagement, 1862 (exhibited at new gallery) - musidora, 1849 (exhibited at the royal academy)

    notable museums and collections

    - toledo museum of art (features hughes' ophelia) - victoria and albert museum (holds several of hughes' illustrations)

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Phyllis

    artsdot.com/en/art/download/arthur-hughes-phyllis-8DP2WF-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Hughes, Arthur. Phyllis. n.d., https://artsdot.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-phyllis-8DP2WF-en/
    APA
    Hughes, Arthur (n.d.). Phyllis [Painting]. https://artsdot.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-phyllis-8DP2WF-en/
    Chicago
    Arthur Hughes. Phyllis. n.d. https://artsdot.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-phyllis-8DP2WF-en/
    Harvard
    Hughes, Arthur (n.d.) Phyllis. Available at: https://artsdot.com/en/art/arthur-hughes-phyllis-8DP2WF-en/

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Phyllis — Arthur Hughes Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Phyllis — Arthur Hughes

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: women. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at April Love (1855), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Pre-Raphaelites: British painters returning to bright colour and sharp detail, rejecting everything taught after Raphael. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Phyllis — Arthur Hughes Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    Can I watch "Phyllis" as a full-screen slideshow?

    The diaporama of "Phyllis" can be watched on the artwork's Diaporama page.

    What subjects appear in "Phyllis" by Arthur Hughes?

    The themes present in "Phyllis" by Arthur Hughes include women. Together they summarize the artwork's subject matter.

    What is the dominant hue of "Phyllis" by Arthur Hughes?

    "Phyllis" leans toward an ochre to sepia tone.