Arthur at Camelyard: 'and there hadde Arthur the first sight of Guenever the Kings daughter of Camelyarde and ever after he loved her'

Edgar Davies was a Welsh artist, who on his sole exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1893, was listed as a sculptor, resident in Manchester. By 1905 he was living in London, as evidenced by the label on the reverse of this picture, which places him at Trafalgar Studios, on Manresa Street, Chelsea. Opened in 1878, this was the first block of mass-produced studios in Chelsea, and contained fifteen units mostly taken by sculptors, which may be how Davies came to be resident.

He exhibited at the New Gallery and in 1905, alongside the present work showed a portrait of Hubert H. Davies, perhaps the playwright Hubert Henry Davies.

This drawing is highly influenced by Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, both in style and its Arthurian subject matter. It is housed within an artist-designed frame incorporating the title and verse that the narrative is taken from. It depicts the moment when Arthur, recently crowned as King of England, arrives in Camelot to assist King Leodogran, who is under siege with his kingdom a wasteland. Leodogran has one daughter, Guinevere, and on his arrival in Camelot Arthur falls in love with her immediately. Later, Arthur's great friend and most trusted knight, Lancelot, will also fall in love with Guinevere, and so Davies places him here standing in the background to suggest the next part of the story.

We are grateful to Scott Thomas Buckle for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.