Girls Collecting Autumn Leaves for a Bonfire Doormat

This design features a painting by the English artist Sir John Everett Millais, who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. It shows a group of four young girls collecting a large pile of reddy brown leaves that have fallen from the trees in August. They are in a garden with green fields of grass. The eldest girls are wearing elegant green dresses. Another girl of roughly the same height is wearing a red dress and she is holding a broom as she helps to brush the leaves into a heap. The smallest girl is wearing a blue dress and she is holding an apple in her hand. The girls are collecting and raking the fallen leaves in order to make a bonfire; the fire itself is invisible, but some smoke can be seen emerging from between the leaves. In the background, there is a bright sunset in the sky. It is a beautiful scene of traditional rural life. The original artwork was painted by John Everett Millais in 1856.