Edward Burne-Jones was an English painter and designer, born in Birmingham in 1833, who became one of the leading artists associated with the later Pre-Raphaelite movement and the Aesthetic Movement. He met William Morris while studying at Oxford, and the two formed a lifelong friendship and creative partnership, encouraged early on by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Burne-Jones produced dreamlike paintings drawn from Arthurian legend, classical mythology and medieval romance, including The Briar Rose series and King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid, characterised by elongated figures, muted colour and intricate decorative detail. He was also a prolific designer for Morris's firm, providing cartoons for stained glass windows in churches across Britain, designs for tapestries such as the Holy Grail series, and illustrations for the Kelmscott Press, most famously the Kelmscott Chaucer. He was created a baronet in 1894 and died in 1898. Original paintings are rare and costly, but stained glass, tapestries, prints and decorative objects designed by Burne-Jones and produced by Morris & Co. are more accessible, and their quality and documented history make them significant pieces for collectors of Victorian art and design.
