Georgiana Houghton: connecting to a higher power

Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884​) was born in the Canary Islands to a middle-class family as the seventh of twelve children. While not much is known about her childhood, we do know that her family moved to London when she was young and shortly thereafter found themselves with very little money. It was the death of her sister, Zilla Rosalia, that brought her to spiritualism; while mourning this loss, Houghton attended a séance held by a neighbor that convinced her that death was not the end, but merely the beginning of a different kind of existence. This first experience with the spirit world led her to train as a medium, which in turn led to the creation of her incredible paintings. She exhibited her work only once during her lifetime, at an exhibition in 1871 which she funded and which financially ruined her, as only two paintings sold. However, what some may have called a failure was not so to Houghton, as she stated afterwards that, "Heavy as was the loss, never have I experienced a shadow of regret for having undertaken it."