Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones (2 vol)
New York: Macmillan, 1904. First Edition. Octavo. Item #029988
In two volumes. Vol. 1: Engraved frontispiece, xii, 309 p., [22] leaves of plates; Vol. 2: Engraved frontispiece, ix, 372 p., [20] leaves of plates and (2) pp. ads. Includes index for each volume. One of the key items in understanding the pre-Raphaelites. The life and times of the painter and decorative artist Edward Burne-Jones, written by his wife Georgiana shortly after the artist's death. The account begins with Burne-Jones's childhood and schooldays in Birmingham and his student days at Oxford and moves on to describe his lifelong friendship with William Morris, and the important influence on him by Rossetti, and his development as one of the most important late Victorian artists and a key figure in the Aesthetic Movement. Georgiana Burne-Jones lets her characters speak for themselves whenever possible, quoting extensively from letters, conversations, and reminiscences. Burne-Jones was a formidable scholar and antiquarian and took a lively interest in current events; the memoirs include his reflections on a wide range of topics, such as art and artists, contemporary politics, education, the future of science and the art of living. The Memorials are therefore much more than just a biography. In recording Burne-Jones's many friendships with artists and such literary figures as Ruskin, Browning, Swinburne and George Eliot, the author sheds important light on the whole cultural climate in which Burne-Jones was working. A very nice set bound in green cloth, spines lettered in gilt, top edges gilt, rear hinge of volume one had been repaired, previous owner's gift inscription.
Price: $225.00