ArtPage on the Arts and Crafts Movement

Arts and Crafts Movement - A predominantly English art movement during the last half of the nineteenth century to reassert the importance of finely designed and made object in the face of increasing industrialization and mass-production.

It was most strongly driven by William Morris (English, 1834-1896).

One of the leading architects involved was Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Scottish, 1868-1928).

Examples:

William Morris and Co. (England, Surrey, the Merton Abbey Works), The Adoration of the Magi Tapestry, late 19th century, wool, handwoven, 255 x 379 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. In the 1880s William Morris attempted to revive tapestry weaving, along with fine hand-printing of books, furniture making, and other crafts.

William Morris (English, 1834-1896), Guinevere and Iseult: Cartoon for Stained Glass, 1862, chalk, pencil and watercolor on paper, 61.0 x 685 cm, Tate Gallery, London. See cartoon and stained glass.

William Morris and the Merton Abbey Works, Surrey, Evenlode, 1883-1900, printed cotton, 50 x 66 1/2 inches (127 x 168.9 cm), Cincinnati Art Museum, OH. This pattern was "derived from Persian and seventeenth-century Italian velvets and is a masterpiece of indigo discharge. The printing of this pattern involved the use of 33 different printing blocks. The dark green background alone required dyeing the cloth blue and overprinting with a strong yellow. This floral pattern is a complex series of printing resists, which kept dye from penetrating the fabric; printing dye, which gave the fabric color; and discharges, which lifted color out of the fabric."

William Morris, Angel of the Resurrection: Cartoon for Stained Glass, 1862, crayon, pencil and watercolor on paper, 68.9 x 46.5 cm, Tate Gallery, London.

William Morris, Pink and Rose Wallpaper Design, c. 1890, hand-block-printed wallpaper, 22 x 28 inches (55.9 x 71.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Designed by William Morris, made/manufactured by Morris and Company, Merton Abbey, England, Length of Printed Cotton, 19th-20th century, cotton, 8 feet 7 1/2 x 38 1/4 inches (262.9 x 97.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See textile.

William Morris, Design for Tapestry, drawing on paper, 13.3 x 34.9 cm, Tate Gallery, London. See tapestry.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Scottish, 1868-1928), designer, Washstand, 1904, oak, ceramic tile, leaded colored glass and mirror glass, 63 1/4 x 51 1/4 x 20 3/8 inches (160.7 x 130.2 x 51.8 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Hill House Chair, 1904, black lacquered wood with upholstered seat, 55 x 16 x 14 1/4 inches.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, designer, Domino Clock, c. 1917, wood, ebony, ivory, erinoid (brand of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)), Glasgow Museums. See Arts and Crafts Movement and Scottish art.

Jessie M. King (English, 1875-1949) for Liberty & Company, Buckle, 1913, silver and enamel, 2 1/4 x 2 inches (5.71 x 5.08 cm), Los angeles County Museum of Art.

Yahoo's links to Arts and Crafts Movement sites.

Also see Art Deco, Art Nouveau, English art, furniture, and Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.