Public mobilizes to save patron saint named Fanny Cornforth

LONDON -- You've probably never heard of Fanny Cornforth. But, one group of women is campaigning to ensure she gets the recognition she deserves.

Emily Turner -- a writer and researcher -- and Cornforth's biographer Kirsty Stonell-Walker are crowdfunding for two memorials for Cornforth, who's been dubbed "the patron saint of overlooked women". Turner describes Cornforth was "a Victorian supermodel" as she was a muse and mistress of pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. According to Turner, Cornforth was an important source of inspiration for Rossetti, but her working class background meant she was treated unfairly by Rossetti's peers.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"Fanny was influential in establishing a major collection of Rossetti’s work, which eventually became part of the Delaware Art Museum," says Turner. "She was a fascinating character who, as a working class woman, was treated with distrust by Rossetti's peers, who thought she should be wiped from the artist's history," explains Turner.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

"She has been treated quite unfairly in previous commemorations, and is mostly remembered as being 'lower class' and uneducated. Like many women throughout history -- particularly sex workers -- she has been maligned, misrepresented, and forgotten," says Cornforth.

Cornforth disappeared from history in 1906 and it was only recently that researchers discovered what happened to her. Cornforth is believed to have been admitted to the workhouse against her will, and was later admitted to Graylingwell Hospital -- an asylum -- where she remained for the rest of her life. When she died in 1909, she was buried in an unmarked grave paid for by the asylum.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

A Fanny Memorial

The people behind the #RememberFanny campaign want to commission a local artist to create a memorial to mark the site of Cornforth's final resting place. They are hoping to raise enough money for a carved bench with an inlaid stone or plaque. "Fanny -- maligned by the art world, sent against her will to a workhouse, admitted a lunatic asylum, buried in a common grave and forgotten by history -- deserves a proper commemoration," says Turner. The campaign has already reached its initial target of £1,500 and the #RememberFanny team has now moved the target to £2,200 so that a second bench can be purchased for the chapel at Graylingwell Hospital.

Turner says the memorial bench at the site of Cornforth's grave will be unveiled on 9 April.

"We'd like as many people as possible to learn about Fanny Cornforth and the important role she plays in art history," says Turner.