Ruth Herbert
Encyclopedia
Louisa Ruth Herbert was a well-known Victorian-era English
stage actress and model for the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti
.
brass
founder
. She was also known as Mrs. Crabbe, having married Edward Crabb, a share and stock dealer, which gave her a certain measure of respectability generally lacking in actresses in the Victorian era. By the mid-1850s, she was no longer living with her husband. She embellished the surname Crabb with a final "e" but used her maiden name as a stage name.
She had performed at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow
in 1855 before she made her London stage debut on 15 October 1855 at the lower-class Royal Strand Theatre
. She also acted at the Olympic Theatre
before moving on to St. James's Theatre, London.
Her early roles were in comedy
and burlesque
productions and she drew eyes with her beauty. She drew favorable reviews with her performance as the lead in Tom Taylor
's Retribution at the Olympic. One of her well known roles was the lead in an 1863 stage production of the sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret
at St. James's Theatre. Author Mary Elizabeth Braddon
said Herbert gave her favorite performance as Lady Audley.
She later managed the St. James's Theatre, London from 1864 to 1868. She hired the then little-known Henry Irving
as her leading man and assistant stage manager at the theatre. One of the plays that she commissioned there was W. S. Gilbert
's first successful solo play, Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack
(1866).
of his enthusiasm for her:
Herbert went on to sit often for Rossetti in 1858 and 1859. Rossetti and Herbert did not stay in regular contact past 1860, though he based a future work on the drawing and painting he had done of her previously.
Herbert bequeathed several of the drawings made of her by Rossetti to her son, Major A.B. Crabbe, and they were sold at auction at Christie's
in 1922.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
stage actress and model for the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
.
Actress
She was the daughter of a West CountryWest Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
founder
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
. She was also known as Mrs. Crabbe, having married Edward Crabb, a share and stock dealer, which gave her a certain measure of respectability generally lacking in actresses in the Victorian era. By the mid-1850s, she was no longer living with her husband. She embellished the surname Crabb with a final "e" but used her maiden name as a stage name.
She had performed at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
The Theatre Royal is the oldest theatre in Glasgow, located at 282 Hope Street in Cowcaddens. The theatre originally opened in 1867, changing its name to the Theatre Royal in 1869, and is the longest running theatre in Scotland...
in 1855 before she made her London stage debut on 15 October 1855 at the lower-class Royal Strand Theatre
Royal Strand Theatre
The Royal Strand Theatre was located in Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps...
. She also acted at the Olympic Theatre
Olympic Theatre
The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street, and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence...
before moving on to St. James's Theatre, London.
Her early roles were in comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
productions and she drew eyes with her beauty. She drew favorable reviews with her performance as the lead in Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch magazine...
's Retribution at the Olympic. One of her well known roles was the lead in an 1863 stage production of the sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. It was Braddon's most successful and well known novel. Critic John Sutherland described the work as "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels." The plot centers on "accidental bigamy" which...
at St. James's Theatre. Author Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Mary Elizabeth Braddon
Mary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret.-Life:...
said Herbert gave her favorite performance as Lady Audley.
She later managed the St. James's Theatre, London from 1864 to 1868. She hired the then little-known Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
as her leading man and assistant stage manager at the theatre. One of the plays that she commissioned there was W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
's first successful solo play, Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack
Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack
Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack, is one of the earliest plays written by W.S. Gilbert, his first solo stage success. The work is a musical burlesque of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, and the music was arranged by Mr. Van Hamme...
(1866).
Artist's model
She first posed for Rossetti's painting 1858 painting Mary Magdalen at the Door of Simon the Pharisee. Rossetti called her a "stunner," one of the beautiful women he sought out as models for his art. As he was waiting for her to arrive, he wrote his friend William Bell ScottWilliam Bell Scott
William Bell Scott was a Scottish poet and artist.-Life:The son of Robert Scott , the engraver, and brother of David Scott, the painter, he was born in Edinburgh. While a young man he studied art and assisted his father, and he published verses in the Scottish magazines...
of his enthusiasm for her:
Herbert went on to sit often for Rossetti in 1858 and 1859. Rossetti and Herbert did not stay in regular contact past 1860, though he based a future work on the drawing and painting he had done of her previously.
Herbert bequeathed several of the drawings made of her by Rossetti to her son, Major A.B. Crabbe, and they were sold at auction at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
in 1922.