A mermaid by John William Waterhouse

John William Waterhouse (British 1849–1917) took inspiration both from Classical and Pre-Raphaelite painting. As with several of Waterhouse's works, A mermaid (1900) is thought to be inspired by a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, The mermaid (1830). The poem includes the lines: Who would be | A mermaid fair | Singing alone | Combing her hair