Anna Swan continued

After breifly reading about Anna Swan I was inspired to research her further. 

Anna had had many marriage proposals before Martin but always feared men were after the money she had earned in the circus. The couple married in London at St Martin’s Church, Trafalgar Square and continued to live in London for some time at 45 Craven Street, Charing Cross. Queen Victoria was present at the wedding and even gave Anna her wedding dress and a diamond ring. The wedding was a huge affair with many guests and newspapers present.  

Anna faced many tragedies throughout her life. In 1865 she was caught in a fire at the circus museum. She was too big to get out of the doors so was allegedly carried out with a rope through a broken wall. She also suffered great unhappiness with child birth. She gave birth to 2 giant children who did not live past 24 hours. 

Anna was fond of animals and in their giant home she had a monkey named buttons who enjoyed himself by throwing rocks at the staff and a parrot that Martin had trained to shout ‘get off my property’ at unwanted visitors!

When Anna died, possibly of consumption, Martin was distraught but later remarried. However upon his death he asked to be buried with Anna, the love of his life.

I’m really drawn to the story of Anna. Her tale is strange mixture of great joy and sadness that could bring an interesting quality to my work. Im completely obsessed with the photos I have found of her. The washed out and slightly eery quality creates an uneasy atmosphere which I definitely want to try and achieve in my drawings. Im particularly drawn to the image of her in a wedding dress which evokes a feeling of the lonely Mrs Havisham.