| I. Lilias Trotter | |
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| Born | 14 July 1853 London, England |
| Died | 28 August 1928 El Biar, Algiers, Algeria |
Isabella Lilias Trotter (14 July 1853 – 28 August 1928) was an artist and a Christian missionary for over 38 years to the Muslims of Algeria.
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Lilias was born to Alexander and Isabella Trotter in the heart of the Victorian era in London. Her father died when she was twelve years old.
In 1876, when Trotter was 23, she travelled with her mother to Venice. Quoting a letter from famous art critic John Ruskin:
| “ | When I was at Venice in 1876—it is about the only thing that makes me now content in having gone there—two English ladies, mother and daughter, were staying at the same hotel, the "Europa." One day the mother sent me a pretty little note asking if I would look at the young lady's drawings.
On my somewhat sulky permission, a few were sent, in which I saw there was extremely right-minded and careful work, almost totally without knowledge. I sent back a request that the young lady might be allowed to come out sketching with me. She seemed to learn everything the instant she was shown it, and ever so much more than she was taught. |
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Ruskin did not believe that ladies could paint before he met Trotter. He changed his mind after he met her, and believed that if she would give her life to painting she could become the greatest painter of the nineteenth century. Ruskin believed that if she would devote herself to art "she would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be immortal." He was unhappy that she was spending so much time on the streets of London, helping with the YWCA when he thought she ought to be painting.
Trotter, however, decided to give up her career in art in order to serve God. She always remained a good friend of Ruskin's though, and they wrote many letters when she was in Algeria.
About this decision Trotter wrote many years later:
| “ | Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen good harmless worlds at once—art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them we run the risk of drifting about, the "good" hiding the "best."
It is easy to find out whether our lives are focused, and if so, where the focus lies. Where do our thoughts settle when consciousness comes back in the morning? Where do they swing back when the pressure is off during the day? Dare to have it out with God. . . and ask Him to show you whether or not all is focused on Christ and His glory. |
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After serving God in England for a time with the YWCA, she went with her own funding to Algeria to serve God there. In 1888 she founded the Algiers Mission Band. In 1964 the Algiers Mission Band became incorporated into Arab World Ministries.
She also wrote several books illustrated by herself, including Parables of the Cross, Parables of the Christ Life, and a book for Sufi Muslims The Way of the Sevenfold Secret. First published in a periodical, and later as a booklet, "Focussed" inspired Helen Lemmel to write of the now famous hymn "The Heavenly Vision" (often referred to by the first line of its refrain, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus").
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