Exhibit:

British Tragedy: An Exploration of Fate, Loss, and Dying in British Literature

Preview of images

A visual gallery through impactful tragic events throughout British history that has shaped and inspired writers throughout the ages. 

Images in this Exhibit

Penicillin

This mould frozen in time is housed at St. Mary's Hospital in London, a gift from the man that changed the medical world, Alexander Fleming. 

Penicillin Vacinations only became wildly available for the first time in 1946, however played a big role during the emergence of World War Two. According to the Science Museum website, the demand for Penicillin was so great, its numbers boomed in 194, and by 1943 the US and all it's allies were stocked and protected.  A common known name from Covid-19, Pfizer also was imperitive to the roll out of this life saving vacination. 

Image...
Queen Victoria

This specific painting is actually a copy of Baron Heinrich on Angeli's portraits he completed; however, this painting was completed by his student Bertha Muller. 

The portrait exhibits a lifetime of grief and mourning the loss of her betrothed, Queen Victoria, also known as the "Widow of Windsor", exemplified mourning culture. In this commissioned portrait, Queen Victoria still showcases her grief 38 years after the passing of Albert, looking solemn in black.

 

Image Source: 

Painting of Queen Victoria

Müller, Bertha, after Heinrich von Angeli....
Famine Mother and Children

John Behan is an Irish Sculptor artist from Dublin. He has completed several famine pieces showcasing the suffering that existed during the Great Famine. 

The Sculpture was inspired by the well known illustration that was showcased in "The London Illustrated News" on 12/22/1849 of mother Bridget O'Donnel and her children. 

Image Source: 

Behan, John. Famine Mother & Children. 2000, bronze, 23 × 9.5 × 4 in., Object #2000.4, Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum,...
Ode to a Nightingale

A simple yet elegant bird Inspired the famous, Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats. The poem highlights nature’s beauty while also enveloping its reader in a blanket of despair, as one contemplates morality.   

 

Youtube: Singing NIGHTINGALE - the best BIRD SONG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdlIbNrki5o

Image Source: 

Image of Common Nightingale:

Birdguides-Cdn.com, 2025,...
Condemned Criminals

This art is actually a rendition from a prisoner himself, etched the soon to be ending lives of fellow inmates before their demise. This image is part of a collection included in the "prisoner's Execution Journal" that includes logs of who suffered capital punishment, as well as illustrations of proceedings throughout the years.

 

Image Source: 

Image of Image, artwork etching completed by Prisioner in 1828, showing other prisioner's recieving Sacrament in Newgate Prison. All Rights belong to Peter Harrington. 

Title or...
Battle of the Somme - Day 1

   In one of Britain's bloodiest battles, this image is hollowing to know the lives of these men must have dwindled so quickly. This image is of the West Front, day one of The Battle of Somme. The Tyneside Irish brigade marches on, the 3,000 original troops dwindled down to only 1,000 after getting caught by German's with machine guns. 

Image Source: 

Image of Soliders off to battle. 

National Army Museum. Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. 1916. National Army Museum, Accession no. 2001-01-279-17,...