Bubbles

It might be seen as slightly disrespectful, not to say unfair, to say that Sir John Millais painted an advertising poster.

Bubbles is a legitimate work of art, originally entitled A Child's World. It was first exhibited in 1886, under the title A Child's World, at the Grosvenor Gallery in London. It was acquired by Sir William Ingram, publisher of the Illustrated London News, who reproduced it in his newspaper as a plate. This was seen by Thomas J. Barratt, managing director of A. & F. Pears, who bought the original from Ingram for £2,200, intending to use it for advertising purposes. Millais's permission was sought in order to alter the picture by the addition of a bar of Pears' Soap. The artist was initially apprehensive at the prospect of his work being the subject of commercial exploitation, but when he was shown the proofs of the proposed advertisements he is said to have grown to appreciate the idea. Even so, when he was criticised for prostituting his art, he pointed out that he had sold the copyright to the painting and so lost control of it.

The model for the painting was Millais's grandson William Milbourne James, who later rose to the rank of admiral in the Royal Navy. He was known as "Bubbles" for the rest of his life.

The painting itself has passed, through mergers and acquisitions, to the transnational consumer goods company Unilever. It was lent to the Royal Academy, but since 2006 it has been on display at the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight, on the Wirral peninsula.