Artist. Born in Birmingham, he was the son of Edward, a frame-maker and gilder, and Elizabeth, who died within days of his birth. He was raised by his father and a housekeeper. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford, he originally studied theology and intended to go into the Church. But a visit to France in 1855 changed his mind. Apart from a few lessons under Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Burne-Jones was largely self-taught and developed his own distinct style based on his travels to Italy. In 1877 he was persuaded to show some of his oil paintings at the Grosvenor Gallery, the new rival to the Royal Academy shows. The show was a success, and Burne-Jones was heralded as the star of the new Aesthetic Movement. He received an honorary degree from Oxford in 1881 and was made an honorary Fellow there in 1883. He became President of the Birmingham Society of Artists in 1885 and was knighted in 1894. Burne-Jones was closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and exerted a considerable amount of influence in the British art world. He was also highly influential among French symbolist painters. In addition to painting, he designed ceramic tile, tapestries, jewellery, and theatrical costume as well as being involved in the rejuvenation of the art of stained glass. Some of his best known paintings are The Beguiling of Merlin, Love Among the Ruins, and The Annunciation. His stained glass designs can be seen in such places as Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts, and St. Martin’s Church in Brampton, England. (bio by: Kristen Conrad)  Family links:  Spouse:  Georgiana Macdonald Burne-Jones (1840 – 1920)*  Children:  Christopher Burne-Jones (____ – 1864)*  Philip Burne-Jones (1861 – 1926)* *Calculated relationship