Burne-Jones decided that the folds in the drapery in this study were too complex for the final painting and fairly soon after he simplified the draperies.
The present work is a drapery study for the seated figures at the center of Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones monumental The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon (110 by 256 in.; 279 by 650 cm, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico). The artist spent seventeen years working on the complex narrative, even moving his studio to a larger space to accommodate the canvas. Born as a commission from his patron George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle, to decorate a wall in his library at Naworth Castle, The Sleep of Arthur in Avalon was left unfinished in Burne-Jones’ studio upon his death. The work was bequeathed to a studio neighbor whose descendants sold it at auction in 1963, where it was purchased by Luis A. Ferré, politician and founder of the Museo de Arte de Ponce.