Masterpiece of Genius: Edward Burne-Jones
Edward Burne-Jones Tate puts costly error on display By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent Four decades ago, the Tate Gallery could have bought Edward Burne-Jones’s huge final painting, The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon, for £1,000. But the Victorian Pre-Raphaelites were despised and the gallery spurned the chance. Now, the 21ft by 10ft painting is worth millions and on Tuesday Tate Britain welcomed it back – but only on loan. Stephen Deuchar, the director of Tate Britain, admitted that his predecessors made a serious error of judgment. He said: “There is not a shadow of a doubt that this is Burne-Jones’s late great masterpiece. These days it would be fought over.” Burne-Jones spent 17 years on the canvas and he was…