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Victorian London's wombat craze: When artists fell for marsupials [1]
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Date: 2025-08-15
Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti's had a major obsession with wombats. He had one as a pet named "Top" that ran around outside of his home. Wombats became a focal point of his artwork, and I can't get enough of his enchanting wombat art.
According to the Public Domain Review, the celebrated artist's fascination with the Australian marsupial began in the 1850s. He and his artistic circle would spend hours observing wombats at London's Regent's Park Zoo. As reported in this fascinating account, Rossetti wrote enthusiastically to his brother about his pet: "The wombat is a joy, a triumph, a delight, a madness."
Top, the pet wombat, quickly became integrated into Rossetti's bohemian household, following people around and nestling against them. The wombat even famously interrupted art critic John Ruskin's tedious monologue by burrowing between his jacket and waistcoat. I would love to see an exhibition solely of Rosetti and his artist friends' wombat art. "The wombat is the most beautiful of God's creatures," declared artist Val Prinsep, capturing the Pre-Raphaelites' adoration for this rotund Australian marsupial.
See also: Wombats love squishmallows, too
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