Editing Richard Dadd (section)

===Mental illness and hospitalization===
[[File:The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke]]'', oil on canvas, {{convert|26|x|21|in|abbr=on}} (1855–64)|361x361px]]
On his return to England in May 1843, Dadd was diagnosed to be of unsound mind and was taken by his family to recuperate in the rural village of [[Cobham, Kent]]. In August of that year, having become convinced that his father was the [[Devil]] in disguise, Dadd killed him with a knife and fled to France.<ref>Allderidge 1974, ''Richard Dadd'', p. 24.</ref> En route to Paris, Dadd attempted to kill a fellow passenger with a razor but was overpowered and arrested by police. Dadd confessed to killing his father and was returned to England, where he was committed to the criminal department of [[Bethlem Royal Hospital|Bethlem]] psychiatric hospital (also known as Bedlam). There and subsequently at the newly created [[Broadmoor Hospital]], Dadd was cared for in an enlightened manner by Doctors William Wood, [[William Orange (physician)|William Orange]] and Sir [[William Charles Hood]].<ref>Chaney 2006</ref>

Dadd probably had [[paranoid schizophrenia]].<ref>''The Victorians part 4. Dreams and Nightmares'' BBC One, 8 March 2009</ref> Two of his siblings had the condition, while a third had "a private attendant" for unknown reasons.<ref name="Allderidge22" />

In hospital, Dadd was encouraged to continue painting, and in 1852 he created a portrait of one of his doctors, [[Alexander Morison]], which now hangs in the [[Scottish National Portrait Gallery]]. Dadd painted many of his masterpieces in Bethlem and Broadmoor, including ''[[The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke]]'', which he worked on between 1855 and 1864. Dadd was pictured at work on his ''Contradiction: Oberon and Titania'' by the London society photographer {{ill|Henry Hering (photographer)|fr|Henry Hering|it|Henry Hering|lt=Henry Hering}}. Also dating from the 1850s are the 33 watercolour drawings titled ''Sketches to Illustrate the Passions'', which include ''Grief or Sorrow'', ''Love'', and ''Jealousy'', as well as ''Agony-Raving Madness'' and ''Murder''.<ref>Allderidge 1974, ''Richard Dadd'', pp. 28, 106–108.</ref> Like most of his works, these are executed on a small scale and feature protagonists whose eyes are fixed in a peculiar, unfocused stare.<ref>Allderidge 1974, ''Richard Dadd'', p. 28.</ref> Dadd also produced many shipping scenes and landscapes during his hospitalization, such as the ethereal 1861 watercolour ''Port Stragglin''. These are executed with a miniaturist's eye for detail, which belies the fact that they are products of imagination and memory.<ref>Allderidge 1974, ''Richard Dadd'', pp. 31–33.</ref>