Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt., A.R.A., R.W.S.

Mrs Margaret McKail, the artist’s daughter (by descent from the above)
Mrs G.L. Thirkell, Malvern (by descent from the above)
Colin McInnes (by descent until 2001)
Sale: Sotheby’s, London, 14 June 2001, lot 34
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

London, Burlington Fine Arts Club, Exhibition of Drawings and Studies by Sir Edward Burne-Jones Bart, 1899, no.143
Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, La Passion du Dessin. Collection Jan et Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2002, no. 112, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Das Ewige Auge - Von Rembrandt bis Picasso. Meisterwerke der Sammlung Jan Krugier und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2007, no. 111, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

STRUCTURE This work is laid down and in excellent condition with no obvious condition problems. The paint surface is clean and the gold paint is strong in colour. The edges of the paper sheet are slightly scuffed, consistent with rubbing from a pervious mount. Unexamined out of the frame. FRAME Contained in a simple gilt frame with rounded corners, with a clean white mount and under glass.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This decorative design by Burne-Jones is related to the large-scale composition in oil entitled The Sirens, of which various versions exist including that in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida. The painting shows the hull of a wooden sailing ship entering a narrow bay on the shores of which are groups of sirens, who by the enchantment of their singing will lead the sailors on board to their deaths.

This was a subject that Burne-Jones returned to on a number of occasions. The Sarasota painting was begun c.1870, left unfinished, and then taken up again in the last years of the artist’s life. A related project was the design for a scheme of stained glass on the theme ‘The Voyage of Vinland the Good’, which was commissioned from Burne-Jones by Miss Catharine Wolfe for her house at Newport in Rhode Island, completed by Burne-Jones in 1884. The present design may be compared to the scheme for the central panel showing a ship in full sail plunging through great waves (now in Carlisle Art Gallery).