Rosamond the Fair
Date1915
Artist
Mary Lizzie Macomber
(American painter, 1861–1916)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions18 x 14 in. (45.7 x 35.6 cm)
frame: 23 1/4 x 19 3/8 in. (59.1 x 49.2 cm)
frame: 23 1/4 x 19 3/8 in. (59.1 x 49.2 cm)
Credit LineAcquisition Fund, 2003
Object number2003-11
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextBoston painter Mary Macomber was known for her panels inspired by the literary and allegorical subjects of the English Pre-Raphaelite painters. In its history, this painting has had two titles—both rich with literary allusions—associated with it: Rosamond the Fair and Fate Spinning the Thread of Time. Rosamond the Fair, secret mistress of England’s King Henry II, was hidden in the center of a maze-formed bower. When Henry’s wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, found Rosamond in the maze in 1176, the Queen gave her a choice of how to die: by poison or dagger. Rosamond drank the poison. The red yarn in Rosamond’s hand may refer to the path through the maze to her bower.As Fate Spinning the Thread of Time, the painting reads as an allegorical figure who represents the determination of the length of each person’s life. Length of a life is represented by a single strand of thread indicating its beginning, duration, and end. In Greek mythology the characters who determine life span are known as the three Fates. In this painting, Macomber collapsed the three figures into one beautiful maid, Fate, who holds the thread of life between her hands.
