It was to the painting of nature and the world around him that he devoted himself principally for the last 25 years of his life, abandoning imaginative or didactic themes. To this period be long a number of pictures of children, like "Cherry Ripe," "Little Miss Muffet," and "Bubbles." Amongst his more serious pictures were "The Princes in the Tower" (1878), "The Princess Eliza beth" (187o), two pictures from Scott—"Effie Deans" and "The Master of Ravenswood"—"A Yeoman of the Guard" (1877), and "The North-West Passage" (1874), representing an old mariner (painted from Edward John Trelawney, the friend of Byron) listening to some tale of Arctic exploration in a room overlooking the sea and strewn with charts. Amongst the works of his later years were his three portraits of Gladstone (1879, 1885 and 189o), and those of John Bright, of Lord Tennyson, and of Lord Beaconsfield, the last of which was left unfinished at his death. He also painted the marquess of Salisbury, Lord Rose bery, the dukes of Devonshire and Argyll, Cardinal Newman, Thomas Carlyle, Sir James Paget, Sir Henry Irving, George Grote, Lord Chief Justice Russell, J. C. Hook, R.A., and himself (Uffizi Gallery, Florence). He drew Charles Dickens after his
death. Amongst his portraits of women were those of Mrs. Bischoffsheim, the duchess of Westminster, Lady Campbell and Mrs. Jopling.
In 1879 Millais left Cromwell Place for a house at Palace Gate, Kensington, which he built, and where he died. In 1885 he was created a baronet. Among his last works are: "St. Stephen," "A Disciple," "Speak! Speak!" (which was bought out of the Chantrey Bequest), and "The Forerunner"—his last exhibited subject-picture. His finely-characterized portraits of Mr. John Hare, the actor, and Sir Richard Quain belong also to his last years. On the death of Lord Leighton he was elected to the presidential chair of the Royal Academy. He died on Aug. 13, 1896, and was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. The Winter Ex hibition of the Royal Academy in 1898 was devoted to his works. The National Gallery of British Art possesses many of his finest works. He is also represented in the National Gallery, in the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert museum, and many other public galleries including those of Manchester, Liver pool and Birmingham.