William Morris (Victoria and Albert Museum)
A pioneer of the Arts & Crafts Movement, William Morris (1834–1896) is one of the most influential designers of all time. Morris turned the tide of Victorian England against an increasingly industrialized manufacturing process towards a rediscovered respect for the skill of the maker. Morris’s whole approach still resonates today, and his designs are popular and much admired.
Published to mark the 125th anniversary of Morris’s death, this book includes contributions from a wide range of Morris experts, with chapters on painting, church decoration and stained glass, interior decoration, furniture, tiles and tableware, wallpaper, textiles, calligraphy and publishing. Additional materials include a contextualized chronology of Morris’s life and a list of public collections around the world where examples of Morris’s work may be seen today. This study is a comprehensive, fully illustrated exploration of a great thinker and artist, and essential reading for anyone interested in the history of design.
William Morris (Victoria and Albert Museum)
Anna Mason,Editor, Contributors: Fiona McCarthy, Peter Faulkner, Charles Harvey and Jon Press, Nicholas Salmon, Chris Miele, Tristram Hunt, Karen Livingstone, Julia Griffin, Martin Harrison, Linda Parry, Frances Collard, Jennifer Hawkins Opie, Lesley Hoskins, John Nash, John Dreyfus
Published by Thames & Hudson
Review
This is an outstanding book, described as the most wide-ranging, comprehensive and beautiful illustrated study of William Morris ever published, it certainly lives up to this description. What this wonderful book illustrates is the amazing breadth of the contributions that William Morris made.
The content is organised under three headings: The Man, The Art and The Legacy, but within this, there are pages of detailed content, illustrations and photographs, it is a wonderful example of the importance of recording and archiving the development of creative work for generations to come.
In The Man there are fascinating insights into his work as a designer, writer, businessman, political activist and conservationist.
In The Art we discover his contribution to painting and drawing, stained glass and church decoration, interior decoration, furniture, tiles and tableware, wallpaper, textiles, calligraphy and even as a printer and publisher with his own private press.
Finally in The Legacy we discover his relationship with the V&A and his inspiration behind the Arts and Crafts Movement.
This is a book to treasure, and a testament to the dedication of the Editor and the Contributors, the V&A, the publishers, the curators and archivists and anyone else involved in this glorious publication. With 660 illustrations, from the sumptuous jacket through to the final pages, the celebration of William Morris’s extraordinary talent shines through.
Highly Recommended!
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