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William Morris GalleryThe 18th Century Water House, Morris’s family home from 1848 to 1856, is now the William Morris Gallery. A committed socialist and medievalist, William Morris (1834 - 1896) was horrified by increasing mass-production and mechanisation in the arts and wished to reinstate the values of traditional craftsmanship and simplicity of design. His slogan was that art should be ‘by the people, for the people’.Following these principles, he decorated and furnished his new house (the Red House, built by Philip Webb) himself, helped by Burne-Jones and Rossetti, amongst others. This led to the setting up of the firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. The firm was a ‘company of Fine Art Workmen’, designing and producing furniture, wallpaper, murals, tapestries, stained glass windows, metalwork, tiles and embroidery, examples of which are on display at the William Morris Gallery. The firm’s earliest commissions came from the church. The projects took the form of stained glass designs with a medieval theme.
Whilst concentrating on ecclesiastical stained glass, the firm also produced hand-painted tiles, table glass and furniture. Its furniture ranged from simple, rush-seated ‘Sussex’ chairs to spectacular, one-off projects like the St George cabinet, designed by Philip Webb and decorated by Morris with scenes from the life of the saint.
In 1875 Morris formed Morris & Co, and reoriented the firm towards the rapidly growing middle class. The company became known for its use of traditional methods, machinery and processes, an example being experimentation with vegetable dyeing techniques. This practise had fallen out of commercial use and provided him with the indigo blues and madder reds which may be seen in many of his designs.
It is perhaps for his wallpapers and textiles that William Morris is best known, with complex designs incorporating plants, flowers and birds. In 1887 Morris & Co received two royal commissions; to design wallpaper for Queen Victoria’s Palace, and to redecorate the throne and reception rooms in St. James Palace. Whilst these commissions afforded Morris an affluent lifestyle, they conflicted with his socialist beliefs, as did the fact that the cost of producing quality items by hand meant that they were to expensive for all but the wealthy. The ideals generated by William Morris gave rise to an interest in the medieval period, the Arts and Crafts Movement, and even much later 20th century ideals such as Art Nouveau. The William Morris Gallery also displays furniture, textiles, ceramics and glass by Morris’s followers in the Arts and Crafts Movement. Among those represented are A.H. Mackmurdo and the Century Guild, William De Morgan and C.F.A. Vosey. William Morris Gallery Admission: Free
Location: Lloyd Park
Open: Tuesday
to Saturday and the first Sunday Web: www.lbwf.gov.uk/wmg For embroidery and tapestries contact: |
