Faerie art has become quite popular recently, but it also flourished in the 19th Century, especially in England. The interest in faeries was fueled by a variety of factors - the Romantic movement, including writers and poets such as William Blake, the popularity of Shakespearean plays that featured faeries, and the various occult movements that were also around at the time, such as Spiritualism, Theosophy and the Golden Dawn.

Much of the art that came from this movement was quite stunning by any standard. The style of many Victorian faerie paintings overlapped with a better known artistic school, the pre-Raphaelites. A very good book that describes this fascinating period, as well as containing many exquisite faerie paintings is called, aptly enough, Victorian Fairy Painting: