Between 1848 and 1853, Dante Gabriel Rossetti served as the inspirational force behind the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB). United by the idealistic goal of shattering the conventions of contemporary art, the seven members of the PRB critiqued each other’s work and provided solidarity in the face of initially harsh public opinion. Natural realism, heightened use of color and thematic seriousness characterize the work of PRB members.

Gabriel’s younger brother, William Michael Rossetti, who pursued literary endeavors, acted as the PRB’s secretary and editor of the brotherhood’s periodical, The Germ. Their sister Christina Rossetti, an author and poet, often contributed her work to the PRB literary journal.

After the death of Gabriel in 1882 and Christine in 1894, William performed the role of family executor, selling Gabriel’s art and editing letters and manuscripts for publication. In addition, William also handled requests from autograph-seekers and potential biographers of both Gabriel and Christina. Although acutely aware of the significance of his siblings’ accomplishments, William was nonetheless reluctant to subject Rossetti letters and journals to public scrutiny for fear of disclosing family scandals such as Gabriel’s affair with William Morris’s wife, Jane.

Aside from his family duties, William worked in the Inland Revenue office for fifty years and, upon retiring, traveled extensively appraising private art collections for tax purposes. As an art and literature critic, William wrote some of the earliest criticism praising poet William Blake. Exhibiting similar enthusiasm for the work of Percy Bysshe Shelley, William lectured at meetings of the Shelley Society and edited a volume of Shelley’s verse.