Arts and Crafts: A return to the well made and handcrafted
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
- William Morris
Inspired by the reformist passion of leading historical figures such as William Morris and John Ruskin, the Arts and Crafts movement from 1866 - 1910 had a huge effect on British Victorian society and its design thinking. Its advocates looked to history and to the countryside to counteract the damaging effects of the industrial revolution, developing a new take on domestic interior design that still can be felt today.
A philosophy advocating major social reform, the Arts and Crafts movement rejected modernity in favour of a romantic revival of medieval and folk aesthetics and traditional techniques. Its impact was far reaching, and it continues to influence craftsmen and interior designers to this day.
I recently did a bit of a deep dive into the period and thought I’d share a few of my key takeaways below.
The History of the Arts & Crafts Movement
In 1851, art critic and writer John Ruskin published the book “The Stones of Venice” praising gothic architecture, whose roughness was evidence of the craftsman’s personality and freedom. Ruskin attacked the division of labour between thinker and worker under industrial capitalism, and the identical, soulless, and inhuman goods produced through repetitive labour.
Ruskin’s ideas were hugely influential to designer, businessman and social activist William Morris. Morris was drawn to medieval history and architecture, fostering a romantic vision of a pre-Industrial world where master craftsmen were both designers and manufacturers of their work.
His business and its furnishings and designs that were created by Morris & Company were the basis of inspiration for much of the Arts and Crafts furniture that followed. By the 1890’s the theories of the moment were embraced in America through the writings of Charles Locke Eastlake in his “Hints Of Household Taste”. By the close of the 19th century Arts and Crafts had become the dominant style in the design of domestic interiors for the British and American middle and upper classes.
Furniture and Interiors from the Arts & Crafts Period.
“Apart from the desire to produce beautiful things, the leading passion of my life has been and is hatred of modern civilisation.” - William Morris
Textiles produced during the Arts and Crafts period
Materials used during the Arts & Crafts Period
Craftspeople during the Arts & Crafts movement worked in various media, including woodwork, pottery, textiles, and metalwork.
Colour Palette
Colour palettes during the Arts and Crafts period recreated the earthy shades found in building materials, or the blues and greens of handmade ceramic tiles. Unpainted woodwork and solid-coloured walls let the simple beauty of every object in the home shine through.
Features of the Arts & Crafts Period
Arts and Crafts designers didn't just want to create beautiful, handcrafted objects. They were also interested in trying to integrate buildings and their interiors in unified 'total' design schemes. This meant designing furniture, metalwork pieces, ceramics and other objects specially to fit a new, socially transformative model of domestic space – the idea that living surrounded by simple, 'honest' designs improved a person's outlook and moral character.
Preserving and emphasising the natural qualities of the materials was also key, as was the production of simple forms. Nature was an important source of ideas, with many Arts and Crafts patterns inspired by British flora and fauna.
The main source of the patterns for William Morris's famous wallpapers were the plants he had observed since childhood. But many artists also took inspiration from the images of plants they found in illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, woodcuts and historical books.
References and Further Reading
VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. William Morris and Historical Design. [online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/william-morris-and-historical-design [Accessed 21 December 2021]
VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Arts & Crafts. [online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/arts-and-crafts [Accessed 21 December 2021]
BRITANICA. (2011) The Stones of Venice treatise by Ruskin. [Online] Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Stones-of-Venice [Accessed 21 December 2021]
LOCKE EASTLAKE, C. (1883) Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details, p. 134, 7th Edn. Houghton, Mifflin and Company [online] Available from: https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Hints_on_Household_Taste_in_Furniture_Up.html?id=O9MDAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y [Accessed 21 December 2021]
VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Arts and Crafts Design for the Home. [online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-design-for-the-home [Accessed 21 December 2021]
Images: Interiors and furniture
1.A LADY IN LONDON (2017) Lady’s 15 Arts and Crafts Movement Places in Britain You Have to Discover. [Online] Available from: https://www.aladyinlondon.com/2017/12/arts-and-crafts-movement-places-britain.html [Accessed 21 December 2021]
2. VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Watercolour, Fleetwood C. Varley, 1901, England. Museum no. E.1903-1990. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-design-for-the-home [Accessed 21 December 2021]
3. Blackwell Arts and Crafts (2021) Arthur Simpson (1857-1922). Oak Dressing Table, Design No. 2605. 1983. [Instagram] Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQIv-XVqYwg/ [Accessed 21 December 2021]
4. VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Armchair, Ernest William Gimson, 1892 – 1904, England. Museum no. CIRC.232-1960. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-design-for-the-home [Accessed 21 December 2021]
5. VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Armchair, designed by Ernest William Gimson, made by Edward Gardiner, about 1905, Sapperton, England. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/arts-and-crafts [Accessed 21 December 2021]
6. LOCKE EASTLAKE, C. (1883) Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details, p. 134, 7th Edn. Houghton, Mifflin and Company [online] Available from: https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Hints_on_Household_Taste_in_Furniture_Up.html?id=O9MDAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y [Accessed 21 December 2021]
7. VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Sideboard, designed by Philip Webb, made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., about 1862, England. Museum no. CIRC.540:1 to 5-1963. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-design-for-the-home [Accessed 21 December 2021]
8. Blackwell Arts and Crafts (2021) Blackwell House Arts and Crafts House designed by Designed by noted architect Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott. [Instagram]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWLvMb0h4TX/ [Accessed 21 December 2021]
Images Textiles
1.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. The Bullerswood Carpet, designed by William Morris and John Henry Dearle, 1889, London, England. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/william-morris [Accessed 21 December 2021]
2.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Fruit, wallpaper, designed by Morris, William, published by Morris & Co., 1865 – 66, London, England. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/william-morris [Accessed 21 December 2021]
3.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Cray, furnishing fabric, William Morris, 1884, England. Museum no. CIRC.82-1953 [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/willam-morris-textiles [Accessed 21 December 2021]
4.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. The Forest, tapestry, designed by William Morris, Philip Webb, John Henry Dearle, made by Merton Abbey Workshop, 1887, England. Museum no. T.111-1926. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/willam-morris-textiles [Accessed 21 December 2021]
5.THE CULTURE TRIP. 'Lodden', printed textile designed by William Morris [Online] Available from: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/a-history-of-the-arts-and-craft-movement-in-one-minute/ [Accessed 21 December 2021]
Images Objects and Stained Glass
1.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Tile panel, designed by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, painted by Lucy Faulkner, made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., 1862 – 1865, England. Museum no. CIRC.520-1953 [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/william-morris-and-historical-design [Accessed 21 December 2021]
2.NEAL AUCTION CO. Newcomb College high-glaze pottery vase decorated by Marie Hoa LeBlanc in the Clematis pattern, about 1904. [Online] Available from: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/auctions/auction-results/newcomb-vase-nails-record-price-at-neals-15m-summer-estates-auction/ [Accessed 21 December 2021]
3.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Stained glass panels, designed by William Morris, made by Morris & Co., 1872 – 1874, England. Museum no. C.677-1923. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/william-morris-and-historical-design [Accessed 21 December 2021]
4.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Tile, designed by William Morris, by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., 1862 - 81, London, England [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/william-morris [Accessed 21 December 2021]
5.VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM. Light fitting, designed by William Arthur Smith Benson, made by W.A.S. Benson and Co. Ltd., about 1902, England. Museum no. M.16-1979. [Online] Available from: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-design-for-the-home [Accessed 21 December 2021]
6.THE MET MUSEUM. Tyg designed by Leona Nicholson (1875–1966) for Newcomb Pottery (1894–1940) 1908, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States [Online] Available from: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/5360 [Accessed 21 December 2021]
7.THE STICKLY MUSEUM. Stickly Museum Online Collections. Grueby Pottery Co., Lamp Base, ca. 1911, glazed earthenware. [Online] Available from: https://www.stickleymuseum.org/explore/collections/ [Accessed 23 December 2021]