July 1893 Friday. / And now you are / starting - I wanted to go & see you / off - but it might have bothered / you - & so here I abide. / I could hardly keep up at all / last evening - Richmond came & / was very merry - & Margaret & Djacq. / & Phil was here - I was quietly / happen to have them - & Margaret / sang very sweetly & Richmond / played her accompaniments - which / he does finely - for he is a good / musician - heart braking it / is at times to hear music - I / lay on the sofa and had my thoughts / and now & then a vision of the / whole of life came into my brain / with a sad clearness - it was / long & long before sleep came - / I prayed hard last night, for / strength for daily life to match / the strength of my heart, which / is so fierce. / And tomorrow in the afternoon we / go to that little remote place / where will quiet, not easy to / disturb - I knew it will do / no good - and bring Mel necessary / rest. - they wont be days / at all - that only is a day / when I can see her - the rest / is the passing of time, without / pastime. / noon - / a letter - a most precious letter / giving me strength - the very strength I prayed / for - & the enclosure - I kneel down as I / opened it - I said a prayer then - are you laughing / - you are all is sacred - all - and it felt / natural & right to pray as I opened it. / And it was understood, that prayer, I know / & not mocked - when I come back I shall / get a little bag made to hold it, & shall / wear it night & day. this afternoon / Lady Brassey comes & Lady Carmarthen - & / then I take Margaret to see Millais, & this / evening is quiet and alone - I shall write to / you & write other letters - a solemn / time it is - Oh I love solemnity & was / made for it - to think I should have / lived for this glorious end! to go out / when the time comes. blessing life, having / tasted & seen the utmost beauty that / is given to mortals. if they ever speak / of me afterwards or remember, will it / be said that after many painful and / laborious years, that came at last / to me that comes mostly to the young - a / long time I have waited & it has come - / and now for a splendid life - to get / strong first & then to begin - and to / work as I have never worked yet - / whom can I help, whom can I help? / for my heart is melted with tenderness / & wonder that I am chosen for happiness / and so many refused. only write to / me when it is very easy, & rest continually / you know where my thoughts are always; / every moment - I shall write cheerfully very / soon - for I despise cowardice for life - I feel / absence terribly, but I shall be at work, & / try not to fail anyone - your daily blessing / will reach me & protect me I know - my / pictures look so nice to my tired eyes - you / know I shall live worthily of your great / friendship - I think now you know everything / about me - indeed you do, everything - / and you have lifted me out of dark waters / & my soul is all gratitude to you, & worship - / day & night - always your E.
The archive, which has remained with May Gaskell’s descendants, consists of more than 200 letters dating from 1892 up to the year of Burne-Jones’s death: three albums of intimate letters from the artist to Mrs Gaskell; two albums of illustrated letters to Mrs Gaskell and her daughter, Daphne; and other ephemera such as the artist’s brushes which he used when painting his famous portrait of Amy Gaskell. The letters are one of the most endearing records of all Burne-Jones’s friendships. They recount both his innermost thoughts and feelings and feature a cast of humorous characters, fictitious and real. They have been acquired for £200,000 with major support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF); the Art Fund; the Arts Council England/Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund; the Friends of the National Libraries; and numerous private donations. Two of the albums are on display in the Museum for its Great British Drawings exhibition where they can be seen until 31 August. They will now enter the Ashmolean’s permanent collection. Following conservation, they will be made available as an invaluable resource to students and scholars of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and they will be published online. The letters will add to the collection of drawings by Burne-Jones bequeathed to the Ashmolean in 1939 by Mrs Gaskell, forming one of the richest Pre-Raphaelite archives in the country. Many of the letters were published by Josceline Dimbleby, May Gaskell’s great-granddaughter, in her acclaimed book, A Profound Secret (2004), which recounts the author’s research into her family’s history. On the occasion of this major acquisition, Josceline Dimbleby will give a Saturday Talk on 8 August at the Ashmolean, in conversation with the curator of Great British Drawings, Colin Harrison. Josceline Dimbleby says: "My discovery of so many intimate and often witty letters from Burne-Jones to my great grandmother May Gaskell, forgotten for decades in an old chest of drawers, was one of the most exciting moments in my life, together with finding, wrapped in old paper and string at the back of one drawer, the paintbrushes he used for his famous portrait of my doomed great aunt Amy Gaskell, still with paint sticking to them. The letters revealed a passion that made it hard to think of this friendship as platonic and I spent a fascinating and happy three years piecing together and writing the story of what was A Profound Secret, feeling that I was getting to know my ancestors, and a very private side of Burne- Jones." Burne- Jones met May Gaskell in 1892, and she became the last in the succession of women with whom he enjoyed especially close, but platonic, friendships. She was the wife of a dull cavalry officer, and, in an unfulfilling marriage, she corresponded with Burne- Jones up to five times a day. The letters include a series of cartoon-like tales featuring characters such as the ‘fat lady’ and the artist himself, caught in mishap and misadventure. Beneath the surface lies the black humour endemic to Burne-Jones’s frequent moods of depression and insecurity. There is, for example, a superb sequence of caricatures of the artist suffering from flu. In the course of their friendship, Burne-Jones became dependent on May, confessing to her that she ‘reached the well of loneliness that is in me’. He also sent whimsical letters to the infant Daphne Gaskell (1887–1966). She was only six when she met Burne-Jones and he took an affectionate and fatherly interest in her, his own children having grown up. His letters to Daphne, written in phonetic spelling, include birds and animals familiar from his other letters to children, and several fantastic inventions such as the ‘Phlumbudge’ and ‘Flapdabble’. The archive also includes some letters to May’s elder daughter, Amy (1874–1910), whom Burne-Jones painted in 1893 in one of the greatest Pre-Raphaelite portraits (collection of Lord Lloyd-Webber). Colin Harrison, Senior Curator of European Art, Ashmolean Museum, says: "May Gaskell was Burne- Jones’s closest friend in his last years. He gave her a selection of his finest drawings, which she in turn gave to the Ashmolean in 1939. The opportunity to acquire the albums of intimate and humorous letters that he sent to May and to her daughter, Daphne, was unmissable; and we are most grateful for the support from the NHMF, the Art Fund, and other bodies, as well as numerous private donors. Their generosity has ensured that the letters have ended up in their rightful home, and that the Ashmolean now has one of the most representative, as well as distinguished, collections of Burne-Jones’s work in the world." Sir Peter Luff, Chair of NHMF, says: “Sir Edward Burne-Jones was the most prominent of the second generation Pre-Raphaelites and his work had an enormous influence. This exceptional collection of letters, which throws light on the last years of his life, was the most important part of his collection in private hands. I'm delighted that National Heritage Memorial Fund investment will mean they can be available for everyone to explore and enjoy.” Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund, says: "The Ashmolean owns one of the finest collections of works by Burne-Jones in the world, which will be greatly enriched by this important and delightful collection of letters."