George Lawrence Bulleid was born in Glastonbury, Somerset, where his father worked as a solicitor. First following in his father’s footsteps, Bulleid studied art in the evenings while pursuing a legal career. He started at the West London School of Art before continuing at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in Chelsea. He shared a studio at Bolton Gardens, South Kensington, with two other artists working in the classicist tradition: John William Godward (1861-1922) and Henry Ryland (1856-1924): the trifecta of the Graeco-Roman style, established by their predecessors Frederick Leighton (1830-1896) and Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912).

In 1889, Bulleid became an Associate of the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS). That same year, he returned to his native West Country, settling in Bradford on Avon near Bath, where he established a studio. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, his work began to reflect the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites. Their compositional style and use of strong, direct colors resonated with Bulleid’s favored Neo-classical themes. Bulleid primarily worked in watercolor, exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy between 1888 and 1913. However, he mostly showed with the RWS; by the end of his career, he had exhibited a remarkable total of 113 works there.

Bulleid’s watercolors are characterized by a refined aesthetic, drawing inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelite tradition. His choice of subjects often features contemplative or melancholic heroines set against stylized, abstruse backdrops. As a true Victorian artist, his compositions show a strong affinity for classicism and antiquity, skillfully balancing mood and style. The interplay between the richly hued figure and esoteric, white background, heightens the emotional impact of his imagery. In the Theatre reveals Bulleid’s ability to distill a moment of introversion. Bathed in soft candy colors, the mysterious inamorata inhabits a composition that demands attention on her presence. The period frame suggests that this fragment was deliberately reduced to emphasize the female protagonist, aligning with Victorian aesthetic trends of isolating beauty within a harmonious classical narrative.