This group includes tracings, drawings and a sketch model, all preparatory studies for two of Leighton's paintings based on the same myth, 'Perseus and Andromeda' (ca. 1891, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) and 'Perseus on Pegasus Hastening to the Rescue of Andromeda' (ca. 1895-6, Leicestershire Museums).

In Greek myth, Andromeda was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiope of Ethiopia. When the Queen boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids (the daughters of a sea god, Nereus), Poseidon retaliated by sending floods and a sea-monster to attack Ethiopia. Eventually, in order to placate the creature, Cepheus and Cassiope were forced to sacrifice their daughter. Andromeda was chained to a rock but she was rescued by Perseus before the monster could reach her.

Three of the studies, two drawings and a sketch model for the first painting 'Perseus and Andromeda' reveal Leighton's preparatory work for the complex, twisting female figure. He returned to the same myth several years later with 'Perseus on Pegasus Hastening to the Rescue of Andromeda'. This composition omitted Andromeda altogether to focus entirely on Perseus on the winged horse above a rocky coastal landscape.

All objects in this group