We are grateful to Alison Smith for confirming that these are studies for the figure 'Terra Omniparens' on the inside lid of the Graham piano. Christie's 2016
A group of studies descended in the family of Sir George and Lady Lewis (Lots 17-24) This interesting group of studies have descended in the Lewis family from Sir George Lewis (1833-1911), one of the most eminent solicitors of the late 19th Century whose second wife became a close friend of Burne-Jones’s. Born in 1833, the same year as Burne-Jones, Lewis though a genial, kindly man, earned a reputation for exceptional shrewdness and ability, and in 1893 he was given a knighthood by William Gladstone. At the Coronation of 1902 he was created a baronet by a King who had good reason to be grateful for his services. Lewis married twice. His first wife, with whom he had one daughter, Alice, died in 1865 and two years later he married Elizabeth Eberstadt (1844-1931), the third of five daughters of Ferdinand Eberstadt of Mannheim. Elizabeth came from a highly cultured background and was passionately devoted to the arts. George, whose work often brought him into contact with the stage, shared her aesthetic interests, while his growing success and rapidly expanding income gave her the scope to indulge them. The Lewises were already entertaining artists during the early years of their marriage, but it was when they moved to 88 Portland Place in 1876 that Elizabeth's career as a hostess took wing, and she was able to launch a salon on a grand scale. Famous musicians and actors gladly took part in the Lewis's entertainments, and Sargent executed portraits of George and Elizabeth. But by far the closest of these artistic friendships was with Burne-Jones, his wife and children. How and when the two families met is unclear, but they were on intimate terms by the late 1870s, and from then on the artist was a frequent visitor to Portland Place and Ashley Cottage, the Lewis's country retreat at Walton-on-Thames. The couple had three children: George, born in 1868, who was to take over the firm and inherit the baronetcy; Gertrude (or Gertie), born in 1871, and Katherine (Katie), born in 1878. Burne-Jones painted both girls’ portraits; that of Katie was sold in these Rooms on 14 June 2000 (lot 20), and that of Gertie was sold in these Rooms on 12 December 2013 (lot 55).