This Novel Traces Painter Richard Dadd’s Descent into Madness and Murder

Jemima Skala | AnOther | 13th July 2026

Dadd was a promising artist and “the toast of the town” after the Royal Academy in 1841. Soon after, a tour of the Mediterranean transformed his work but triggered psychosis and, on returning to London, he murdered his father. Confined to psychiatric hospitals from then on,  he produced according to one writer great art that has an “ethereal, profoundly sad beauty”. Dadd’s story is a tragedy that befell a talented person. His story also queries how day to day life and an artistic vision are linked, or not. Images are here.