Discover the breadth of Morris's work and interests through twenty objects selected from The William Morris Society's collection.
William Morris (1834 – 1896) was a revolutionary force in Victorian Britain: his work as an artist, designer, craftsman, writer and socialist dramatically changed the fashions and ideologies of the era. Morris was born to an affluent family in Walthamstow, near London. He studied at the University of Oxford with the initial intention of joining the clergy, but changed course to pursue a creative occupation. Morris developed friendships with the Pre-Raphaelite artists Philip Webb and Edward Burne-Jones, both of whom fostered and would contribute to his artistic pursuits.
This exhibition illustrates the diverse interests that William Morris passionately pursued in his lifetime, as well as his profound admiration for craftsmanship utilising and reviving traditional methods of dyeing and printing. Morris’s process of making extended to more than an idea of material craft; he believed that labour itself should be valued and that the learning of manual skills made for a well-rounded life, as well as the value of good design for the maker as well as the consumer.
He was constantly teaching himself different processes and experimenting with new techniques. Morris’s ideas about how we might live and work creatively remain relevant in our own age.
This is the William Morris Society’s first online exhibition and will be regularly updated with a series of blog posts.
