"Hidden Burne-Jones" is a major new volume which throws new light the draughtsmanship of leading Pre-Raphaelite artist, Edward Burne-Jones. The book studies Burne-Jones' development as an artist and image maker through his commitment to drawing during the course of his career. The volume includes three essays by leading Burne-Jones specialists. The first, by John Christian, presents new research on Burne-Jones' drawing technique and stylistic development, most clearly seen in works like the "Fairy Family" series (1857), "The Annunciation" (1857-61), "Study for an Idyll and An Idyll" (1862), and "Drapery Study of Lucretia for Chaucer's 'Legend of Good Women'" (1863).The second essay, by Elisa Korb, studies Burne-Jones' depiction of the female form, his approach to using models, and the stylistic development of subjects such as the nude over the course of his career. The artist's fascination with the female form is most strongly evoked in works like "Female Nude: Three Studies" (1865-66), "Two Nude Female Studies for 'The Lament'", (1865), "Lucretia" (1867) and "Composition Study for 'Charity'" (1867).
The final essay, by Tessa Sidey, looks at Burne-Jones' often uneasy relationship with his native city of Birmingham, and the work of major benefactors, especially local patrons J.R. Holliday and Charles Fairfax Murray, in helping to develop the Museum and Art Gallery's internationally important holdings the artist's work.The volume illustrates 63 selected drawings and works on paper, which appear throughout the essays and the main exhibition presentation, nearly 30 of which are reproduced in colour. Each work is accompanied by an entry, which includes full specifications, provenance, inscriptions and an extended caption. The Burne-Jones collection at Birmingham is in every sense an international public resource. It contains nearly 1,200 works, of which over a thousand are works on paper and related archive material. This volume includes a complete catalogue listing of all 1,137 drawings, watercolours, prints and archive material at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, which will also form the basis of a new on-line Burne-Jones Resource Site to be launched in 2007.