Desperate Romantics reveals the secrets of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, but, as Jade Wright discovers, its real stars are here on Merseyside

WITH handsome artists in britches and comely Titian-haired models in next to nothing, Desperate Romantics has marked itself out as must-see TV.

The BBC’s tongue-in-cheek retelling of the story of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood is pulling in viewers by the million, and the show is expected to sell to channels around the world.

But the paintings that inspired the show are not languishing in some far-flung collection. They’re hanging here in Merseyside.

The collections are held at the Walker Art Gallery, the Lady Lever gallery, in Port Sunlight, and Sudley House, in Aigburth.

“We’ve noticed a definite increase in the amount of people in the Pre-Raphaelite room since the show began,” says Laura MacCulloch, the Curator of British Art at the Walker.

“The Pre-Raphaelite paintings are always very popular, but anything that highlights them is a good thing. We just want people to know they’re here, and they’re free to come and see.

“We’re very lucky in Liverpool to have an excellent collection. Lord Leverhulme had a real eye for art and he bought a lot of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s paintings early on. A lot of the Liverpool industrialists did. They tended to be more receptive to the newer style than the aristocratic collectors. As a result, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham all have strong collections.”

While the BBC adaptation has been good at getting people through the door, Laura admits that some of the artistic licence has made her wince.

“They’ve changed history and written out some of the important characters,” she explains. “There were actually seven in the brotherhood – William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, plus his brother William Michael Rossetti and James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner.

“They’ve also left out Ford Madox Brown, Rossetti’s teacher, who was an instrumental part in the movement.