Writing about the Holy Grail series at in 1897, Valance found that the Failure of Sir Lancelot, "...though neither the largest nor the most conspicuous, is yet, in point of beauty, second to none in the set." He continues with the following description: "It contains but two figures. In the foreground Sir Lancelot is represented lying asleep, his back leaning against the stone side of a water-cistern, his feet pointing to the door, shut against him and guarded by an angel warder of the Temple of the Holy Graal. The angel's wings, blue as the depths of a sapphire, harmonise with the pale blue of his sleeves, whilst his white and yellow brocaded robe contrasts with the rich crimson surcoat of the mailed knight, whose limbs are encased partly in plate partly in chain armour... The whole composition is in a subdued tone of colour, with beams of strong light streaming through the chinks of the door, where they fall upon armour and blades of grass"