Joseph Noel Paton was a Scottish painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement. He became friends with Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood co-founder John Everett Millais while they were students at the Royal Academy. Though he declined an offer to formally join the Pre-Raphaelites, Paton’s early work, in particular, shows their influence.
Paton’s early literary, historical and religious subjects were in keeping with the literary nature of many Pre-Raphaelite works. He is best known for his monumental fairy subjects, most notably The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania (above, top, with detail) and several related paintings.
In his later work, Paton found success with religious subjects that eventually leaned toward the sentimental.