Burne-Jones at Auction

This wonderful painting by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Love among the Ruins, has not been seen in public in 50 years. It is now being offered at auction by Christie's, with an expected price of £3 million - £5 million. The painting dates to 1873, and the title is taken from a Robert Browning poem. The model for the woman was Maria Zambaco, with whom Burne-Jones had a torrid affair, and the painting has been taken as a celebration of their love.

Sadly, the affair ended with Zambaco attempting to drown herself in the Regent's Canal. Sometimes love sustains us when everything else falls to ruin, but sometimes it is love itself that is the ruin, and we need something else - family, friends, work, nature -- to sustain us when it collapses.