Who was Morgan Le Fay?

Morgan Le Fay is King Arthur's half-sister in Arthurian legend. She's depicted as both a powerful sorceress and a morally complex figure, sometimes healing Arthur and sometimes plotting against him.

Where can I see this painting?

The work displayed at the Leighton House Museum in London. It's part of the Cecil French Bequest to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

What art movement was Burne-Jones part of?

Edward Burne-Jones was a leading Pre-Raphaelite artist known for medieval and mythological subjects. He worked closely with William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Where to See Morgan Le Fay: Leighton House Museum, London

Wikimedia Commons • Public Domain

Morgan Le Fay

by Edward Burne-Jones

StylePre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Where to See It

Leighton House Museum, London

London, UK

Permanently housed

Museum Website Buy Tickets

The Artist

Edward Burne-Jones

1833–1898

British

View all works →

Cite or Embed This Work

APA · MLA · Chicago

1-click academic citation and embeddable “On View” museum badge for articles, syllabi, and research.

Edward Burne-Jones completed this depiction of Morgan Le Fay in 1862, drawing from Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur." The Pre-Raphaelite artist portrayed King Arthur's half-sister, a figure who embodies both magical power and moral ambiguity in Arthurian legend.

Burne-Jones was deeply invested in medieval themes throughout his career. Morgan Le Fay, sometimes cast as healer and sometimes as villain in the legends, gave him rich material for exploring the complex female figures that fascinated the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The oil on canvas measures 96.52 by 48.26 centimeters.

The painting now hangs at the Leighton House Museum in London as part of the Cecil French Bequest. Burne-Jones also created preparatory studies for the figure, including a head study made in 1885.

More by Edward Burne-Jones

View all →

The Merciful Knight

Edward Burne-Jones

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, Birmingham