Richard Dadd was born in 1817, the son of a London chemist. He studied at the schools of the Royal Academy of Arts, where teachers cited him for his attention, good temper and diligence rather then for his talent. By the time he was twenty-five, he had begun to paint canvases illustrating old English legends of the "little people". He also painted landscapes, marine and animal subjects. He became a founding member of a group of artists known as "The Clique".

In 1842 Dadd traveled to the Middle East with his patron, Sir Thomas Phillips. The exhilaration of the journey was such that Dadd expressed doubt about his own sanity on his return to London. He entered the competition for the decoration of the Houses of Parliament, but after his...