Newly-discovered medical records have finally revealed the fate of pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti 's muse Fanny Cornforth and how she died a tragic , death penniless death . The details of where and how the West-Sussex born model and mistress of Rossetti died remained a mystery for years until her biographer recently tracked her down through hospital records . They revealed the orange-haired beauty - whose face graced many of her lover 's paintings - died in the Sussex county asylum in poverty and suffering from clear symptoms of dementia . Rossetti 's famous painting Aurelia 'Fazio 's Mistress ' ( pictured ) was a portrait of his muse Fanny Cornforth . Fair Rosamund , painted in 1861 ( left ) , and 1886 's Lady Lilith ( right ) also used Cornforth as the model . The records revealed she died at the Graylingwell Hospital on February 24 , 1909 , at the age of 74 . At the time of her death , she was suffering from 'senile mania , confusion , weak-mindedness and an inability to sustain a rational conversation , a poor memory and sleeplessness ' , The Guardian reported . Born Sarah Cox in 1835 , she met Rossetti in 1958 and was considered one of his 'stunners ' - a reference to the women he kept in his company as lovers and models . She went on to pose for at least 60 of his artworks . Art historian Kirsty Stonell Walker used the records from Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester , now stored at the West Sussex records office , to track down her resting site and lay flowers at her unmarked grave . Ms Stonell Walker told The Guardian : 'It is a very sad story , but the hospital was not a terrible place , it actually had a very progressive approach towards mental illness . 'She was buried with a few other people , but not exactly in a pauper 's grave . ' Rossetti was the son of Italian scholar Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti and his wife Frances Polidori . He was born in London in 1828 and is known for his painting , illustrating , translating and poetry . He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with contemporaries William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais . His most famous paintings include Beata Beatrix , The Girlhood of Mary Virgin , How They Met Themselves . Dante Gabriel Rossetti was one of the most well-known founding members of the Pre-Raphelites group . The Pre-Raphelites were a group of English artists who formed a 'brotherhood ' in 1848 , dedicated to creating work that rejected the mannered approach adopted by Raphael and other Renaissance painters . Believing Raphael , Michelangelo and Leonardo had proven a corrupting influence on art , they wanted to return to the intense colour and detailed compositions that characterised 15th century Italian art . Founded by William Holman Hunt , John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti , the trio later welcomed Rossetti 's brother , William , James Collinson , Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner to their circle .
Details of the death of Dante Gabriel Kirsty Stonell Walker 's muse finally unmasked . Biographer Rossetti located her grave using medical records . They revealed she died penniless , suffering from dementia in an asylum . She was the muse and model for some of Kirsty Stonell Walker 's best-known works .