The Story of the Work
The Boy Who Was Supposed to Die: The Miracle of Lawrence Alma Tadema
Doctors gave him weeks to live. His family prepared his grave. But Lawrence Alma Tadema had a different plan. The incredible true story of his survival.
Explore the history →A Day at the Roman Baths: The Four-Hour Ritual
Step inside the Roman bathhouse for a sensory tour of the empire's daily ritual—from the sweating room to the cold plunge.
Explore the history →The Long Winter: Waiting for Spring Lawrence Alma Tadema
For fifty years, his work was frozen in silence. But like the flowers in a spring Lawrence Alma Tadema painting, the beauty was just waiting to bloom again.
Explore the history →The Return of Springtime: How the 1960s Rescued Alma‑Tadema
The 1960s cultural revival that rescued Sir Lawrence Alma‑Tadema’s Victorian springtime paintings, driven by the lonely patronage of Allen Funt and the sensory hunger of a psychedelic generation.
Explore the history →From 6 Dollars to 35 Million: The Painting Spring of Alma-Tadema
Once, you could buy a Tadema for the price of the frame. Now, they sell for millions. Discover the economic painting spring of the Victorian market.
Explore the history →The Roses of Heliogabalus: The Most Beautiful Murder in Art History
It looks like a party. It's actually a massacre. Discover the dark story behind Lawrence Alma-Tadema's masterpiece, The Roses of Heliogabalus.
Explore the history →Spring: The Happiest Painting in the World
Why does this painting make people smile? Discover the hidden details, the architectural secrets, and the joyful history behind 'Spring'.
Explore the history →The Million Dollar Instrument: The Secret Life of the Alma-Tadema Steinway
It is the most famous piano in the world. Designed by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, this Steinway is an inlaid masterpiece that vanished into obscurity before selling for $1.2 million.
Explore the history →The $35 Million Masterpiece: The Finding of Moses
In 2010, The Finding of Moses sold for $35.9 million, proving the critics wrong. Discover the definitive story of Alma-Tadema's Egyptian masterpiece.
Explore the history →The Tycoon Painter: Why A Single Lawrence Alma Tadema Cost a Mansion
Lawrence Alma Tadema wasn't a starving artist—he was a Victorian tycoon. Discover how a single Lawrence Alma Tadema painting cost the equivalent of $20 million today, and why his wealth rivaled modern Premier League footballers.
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