Drawing

This pen and ink sketch shows the actress Julia Neilson (1868–1957) in the role of Hester Worsley in A Woman of No Importance.The image was created for reproduction in a newspaper/magazine. Annotation on the rear indicates that it was drawn by the engraver Thomas Lascelles.

Julia Neilson established herself as an actress performing in a series of plays by W.S.Gilbert. In 1888 she joined the company of Herbert Beerbohm Tree and performed with them for five years. It was whilst working for Tree that she met her future husband Fred Terry (1863-1933) and the pair went on to act together in London and on tour for the nearly three decades. One of the most famous plays in their repetoire was The Scarlet Pimpernel in which Neilson played the role of Lady Blakeney and Terry the role of Sir Percy.