William Morris believed people should be surrounded by beautiful, well-made things. Morris’s lectures and essays on art and his rediscovery of traditional craft techniques helped spread the movement, as did the decorative designs and products from his company: Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. ...
Why was William Morris design important?
One of the most influential figures during this time was William Morris, who actively promoted the joy of craftsmanship and the beauty of the nature . Having produced over 50 wallpaper designs throughout his career, Morris became an internationally renowned designer and manufacturer.
How did William Morris influence design?
The influence of William Morris and the Kelmscott Press upon graphic design, particularly book design, was remarkable. Morris’s concept of the well-designed page, his beautiful typefaces, and his sense of design unity —with the smallest detail relating to the total concept—inspired a new generation of graphic designers.
Why was William Morris so influential?
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production .
Was William Morris inspired by a particular design movement?
Morris was himself inspired by the ideas of the Victorian era’s leading art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900), whose work had suggested a link between a nation’s social health and the way in which its goods were produced.
How did William Morris influence others?
In 1877 he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to campaign against the damage caused by Victorian architectural ‘restoration’. Embracing Marxism and influenced by anarchism , in the 1880s Morris became a committed revolutionary socialist activist.
What did the Arts and Crafts Movement influence?
The Arts and Crafts Movement was promoting economic and social reform . It was anti-industrial and it had a huge influence on the arts in Europe. Until Modernism displaced it in the thirties, it was the main influence throughout the British Empire and ultimately the whole of Europe.
What is the contribution of William Morris?
William Morris, the leader of the movement, was a major figure in the evolution of design. Morris was actively involved in designing furniture, stained glass, textiles, wallpapers, and tapestries from the 1860s through the 1890s.
What was William Morris most famous piece of art?
Woodpecker Tapestry . Most of Morris’s best-known tapestry designs were created in collaboration with artists, such as Philip Webb and Edward Burne-Jones.
Why did Morris make wallpaper?
During his career, William Morris produced over 50 wallpapers. ... He warned in his essay ‘The Lesser Arts’ (1877) against the likes of “sham-real boughs and flowers”, and advised those designing wallpapers “to avoid falling into the trap of trying to make your paper look as if it were painted by hand “.
What did William Morris believe in?
He was a passionate social reformer, an early environmentalist, and an important political theorist. His Utopian novel News from Nowhere had a profound national and international influence. Uniting all these activities was Morris’s belief in the power of beauty to transform human lives .
Where did the aesthetic movement began?
The aesthetic movement flourished in Britain in the 1870s and 1880s and was important equally in fine and applied arts.
Which kind of books does William Morris like to read?
Although to modern eyes the Kelmscott type style looks very dense, Morris was committed to trying to balance his love of medieval style with readability .
How did William Morris create his patterns?
He created structure through his designs by building strong, rhythmic and fluid lines from the shapes of leaves, vines and branches , and he frequently superimposed the main pattern over a smaller, recessive background pattern to fill the design space.
