Katey

Katey Dickens (1839–1929), Dickens’s second daughter, was born in the building which now houses the museum. She was also the first visitor to the museum when it opened its doors in 1925. Her remarkable lifetime saw her objecting to her father’s separation from her mother in 1858, marrying, firstly the pre-Raphaelite Charles Collins (brother of Wilkie Collins – Dickens’s good friend) and later Carlo Perugini, a pupil of Lord Leighton. Dickens acted in loco parentis to the Stone children following their father’s death in 1859 and Marcus often stayed with him. It was during this time that he made a study of Katey (already in the Museum’s Collection) followed by this fully worked portrait. Marcus Stone was the illustrator to Dicken's novel, 'Our Mutual Friend'.