In Time of Peril

Edmund Blair Leighton painted the In Time of Peril in 1897, an oil on canvas measuring 124.5 x 168.9 cm. The scene shows two young princes being spirited away from danger, comforted by their glamorous mother as they arrive at a monastery for protection. Leighton described the setting as "the water gate of a monastery in the fourteenth century."

The painting appeared at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1897, which marked Queen Victoria's 60th anniversary on the throne. Leighton specialized in chivalric scenes that resonated with Victorian audiences caught up in the Arthurian Revival. His knights, damsels, and medieval settings offered escapism into a romanticized past.

Leighton (1852-1922) exhibited annually at the Royal Academy from 1878 to 1920. His paintings feature careful attention to lighting and color, often using warm tones and soft illumination to create dreamy atmospheres. In Time of Peril hangs at the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in New Zealand, part of the Mackelvie Trust Collection.