Brinsley Le Fanu

Brinsley Le Fanu painted his uncle’s portrait so carefully you can almost hear the rustle of the writer’s papers. He put every freckle and wrinkle in place, as if Sheridan Le Fanu had just set down his pen and would walk back into the room. His brush kept the sitter’s exact gaze, the same one that had spooked Victorian readers in ghost stories. You can still see it today in the oil sketch hanging at the National Portrait Gallery—look for the steady light on the writer’s left temple.