Who was Edward Burne-Jones to William Morris?

Edward Burne-Jones was a lifelong friend and frequent collaborator of William Morris. The two first met as students at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1853, where they shared an interest in the Oxford movement.1

Following their time at university, they moved to London and shared a studio in Red Lion Square, where they worked under the guidance of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Burne-Jones became a key associate in Morris’s firm, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company, which was dedicated to reviving the quality of medieval craftsmanship.213

Throughout their careers, they collaborated extensively on decorative arts, including stained glass, tapestries, and book design. Notably, Burne-Jones provided 87 illustrations for the Kelmscott Press’s 1896 edition of the Kelmscott Chaucer, a work regarded as one of the finest printed books in history.23