Edmund Spenser's epic romantic poem, The Faerie Queen, published in 1590, inspired many English artists from the end of the eighteenth century into the early Victorian period. The poem, which paid homage to Queen Elizabeth as the personification of Gloriana, was probably considered eminently suitable as a subject during the reign of a new female monarch, while its themes of chivalry and nationalism suited the Victorian taste for 'olden tymes'.

In this scene from Book I of The Faerie Queene (canto VI, verse 18), Una appears in the centre, her white costume identifying her as the personification of truth and ideal beauty. The composition closely follows the text, as 'wooddy nymphs', hamadryads and naiads flock to see Una's lovely face but then run away for fear of being humiliated by her 'heavenly grace'. Meanwhile the satyrs on the left, usually renowned for their lascivious nature, become overawed by Una's beauty and 'henceforth nothing faire, but her on earth they find'. With its echoes of Poussin's bacchanalian scenes this painting, like so many of Frost's works, draws on the classical tradition for its depiction of the nude figures. Frost was a protégé of William Etty (1787-1849), who built his reputation on painting the nude.

Una Among the Fauns and Wood Nymphs was purchased by Queen Victoria in 1847, when Frost was still in the early stages of his career. After visiting the Royal Academy exhibition the Queen wrote of what she had seen: '…there are some very clever ones by new artists. There is one in particular, "Una Amongst the Fauns" by Frost, which we intend to buy. He is a student of the Academy and shows immense talent' (Journal, 30 April, 1847). Although the painting had originally been painted for the businessman Elhanan Bicknell (1788-1861), a major patron of contemporary British art, he agreed to cede it to the Queen, who then gave it to her husband as a birthday present. Two years later Prince Albert commissioned another Spenserian subject, The Birth of Belphoebe and Amoret, from William Leighton Leitch (RCIN 406522), as a birthday present for the Queen. Like Florinda, Una Among the Fauns and Wood-Nymphs challenges the misconception that the royal couple disapproved of nudity in art on moral grounds.

Text adapted from Victoria and Albert: Art & Love, London, 2010

Signed and dated: W.E. FROST. 1847.