Forevermore - The Meeting of the Turret Stairs
Centuries pass, castles crumble. And still, some love stories never end.
Created in collaboration with Enchanted Living magazine, this collection inhabits the world of one of the most romantic and timeless paintings of the nineteenth century: Frederic William Burton’s The Meeting of the Turret Stairs. The painting captures a stolen moment between two star-crossed lovers from an old Danish tale — Hellelil and her beloved Hildebrand — whose love is forbidden by her family. On a winding stone staircase, they meet for what will be the last time as he holds her outstretched arm with tender reverence. Burton leaves us suspended there, in the breath before goodbye.
For Forevermore, we imagined the world just beyond that staircase. The lovers appear within an ancient stone archway, surrounded by exuberant 18th century flowers and the mossy tree from Arthur Hughes’ The Long Engagement. We added a distant castle, a sword from the 1600’s, and a hand-painted book bearing the words “Love Conquers All”. A white rose, long a symbol of devotion, love and loyalty, rests in the pages of the book as a nod to the white rose petals at Hellelil’s feet in Burton’s painting. The banners on our piece are inspired by the remarkable decorative borders of David Parr House, and read “Beyond time, ever thine”. And as a final, storybook touch, we trimmed the collection in a print taken from a medieval illuminated manuscript, featuring fantastical hand-painted dragons.
A love letter to the great romances — the impossible ones, the enduring ones, and the ones that stir our souls — Forevermore is a reminder that the greatest stories don’t just belong to their own time. They find us centuries later, and make our hearts ache all over again. And somewhere beyond the ages, the lovers are still meeting on the stairs.
