MILLAIS

Millais purchased the site at No. 2 Palace Gate in March 1873, selecting the suburb of Kensington for his new home. Although not yet fully established, Kensington was rapidly becoming a colony for artists. This site offered not only large lots of land in an area that was still pollution-free, but also afforded him the ability to easily visit other artists, share props, and attract potential patrons. Millais's friend Philip Charles Hardwick (1822-1892) completed the designs for the house in 1873, and in 1876 the palace builders Cubitt & Co. finished its construction. Italianate in style, plain and old-fashioned, Millais's house differed from the Queen Anne-revival style preferred in Kensington. Many of Millais's admirers insisted that this style suited its owner.