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Lot Essay
Stylistically this drawing can be dated to the late 1860s when Burne-Jones was working on an unrealised composition of The Fates, in which the three Fates are seated looking down upon a pair of lovers. Another red chalk study of three seated female figures, also traditionally linked to this subject, was sold in these Rooms on 31 May 2012, lot 12. Other studies for this work are in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Art Institute of Chicago. Stephen Wildman has suggested that it could also relate to The Hours (1882, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield).
Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830-1901), an early owner of this drawing, was a publisher and bookseller who published the works of both William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He was a great friend of both men, and later took over Rossetti's share of the tenancy of Kelmscott Manor. Through these two men, he also became great friends with Swinburne, Ruskin, and Burne-Jones, several of whose works he acquired.
We are grateful to Stephen Wildman for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
Frederick Startridge Ellis (1830-1901), an early owner of this drawing, was a publisher and bookseller who published the works of both William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He was a great friend of both men, and later took over Rossetti's share of the tenancy of Kelmscott Manor. Through these two men, he also became great friends with Swinburne, Ruskin, and Burne-Jones, several of whose works he acquired.
We are grateful to Stephen Wildman for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.