Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The Sleep of King Arthur in Avalon - Tate Britain


This magnificant painting returns to Britain for the first time in 50 years. It was the largest of Burne-Jone's paintings commissioned in 1881. It required a special studio and wasn't finished on his death 17 years later. It measures 20 feet x 10 feet and shows a sleeping King Arthur surrounded by the favourites of his court.
In the 60's the Tate turned down the chance to buy it for £1000 and it was sold to a Puerto Rican collector Luis Antonio Ferre who displayed it in his local gallery in Ponce.

No comments: