Theodore Casimir Roussel (1847–1926) was a French-born English painter and graphic artist, best known for his landscapes and genre scenes.

Two years later, he made a sensational début at an exhibition held by the New English Art Club when he presented "The Reading Girl", a life-size nude.

The public response was expressed by a reviewer from The Spectator, who wrote: "...it is Realism of the worst kind: The eye of the artist sees only the vulgar appearance of his model, making it blunt and crude...".

[3] Hetty became Roussel's mistress and gave him a child but, when his wife died, he married Arthur Melville's widow, Ethel, instead.

Not long after the notorious exhibition, he acquired a home in Parsons Green and spent most of his time painting atmospheric landscapes, usually featuring the Thames.