Quest for the Holy Grail - Study for The Attainment1891 – 1894 Accession number: 1949P6 Watercolour and bodycolour on buff paper. Width: 1593 mm Height: 516 mm InformationA worked up preliminary study for the tapestry. It lacks the decorative details of the tapestry such as jewels on the clothes. This details would have been supplied at a later stage by John Henry Dearle. Unlike the elaborate copy of the Tassilo chalice which appears in the tapestry, the communion cup here is quite simple.The donor sister, Katie Lewis, was a favourite correspondent of Burne-Jones when she was a child. Burne-Jones also painted portraits of both sisters, now in private collections. Morris & Co. had received a commission from an Australian mining millionaire, W.K. D'Arcy, to furnish his house, Stanmore Hall, near Uxbridge. It had a large dining room and Morris pursuaded him to make use of tapestry to cover the walls. On undertaking to decorate the room in this way, Morris asked Burne-Jones to draw cartoons for a series based on the Holy Grail legend. The set consisted of five large panels, a smaller one of a ship, and a dado of verdure with the knights' shields hanging from the trees. The five scenes were as follows:The Knights of the Round Table Summoned to the Quest by a Strange DamselThe Arming and Departure of the KnightsThe Failure of Sir LancelotThe Failure of Sir GawaineThe Achievement of Sir Galahad Accompanied by Sir Bors and Sir Percival This cartoon was presented to Birmingham in 1949 by Mrs. Gertrude Burney, whose sister, Katie Lewis, was a favourite correspondent of Burne-Jones when she was a child. Burne-Jones also painted portraits of both sisters, now in private collections.
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