Art Appreciation Lecture Series 2014
Realism to Surrealism: European art and culture 1848-1936
Redefining the decorative: William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement
Dr. Mark de Vitis
26/27 Feb 2014
Lecture summary:
William Morris is one of the most important designers of the nineteenth century, whose influence
extended well beyond his own lifetime. This lecture will consider the contribution Morris made to
the visual culture of the nineteenth century and consider his status within a lecture series devoted
to visual artists concerned with the modern.
Slide list:
1. Watts, George Frederick (1817-1904), William Morris, 1870, o/c, 64.8 x 52.1 cm, National
Portrait Gallery, London
2. Morris, William, La Belle Iseult, 1858, Oil paint on canvas, 718 x 502 mm, Tate, London
3. *Webb, Philip, The Red House, designed 1859, Bexleyheath, London
4. Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Maddox Brown and William Morris, East Window, 1873, Jesus
Church, Troutbeck, Cumbria
5. Morris (designer), Dove and Rose Furnishing fabric, made in Darvel, Scotland, by
Alexander Morton & Co. (weaver) for Morris & Co., 1879 (made), woven silk and wool
double cloth, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
6. Morris, If I Can, wool, fragment, Kelmscott Manor Oxfordshire, England
7. Dearle, John Henry (designer), Morris & Co. (manufacturer), Screen, 1885-1910, Victoria
and Albert Museum, London.
8. *William Morris (designer), Strawberry Thief, furnishing fabric, 1883 (made), Morris & Co.
(maker), Indigo-discharged and block-printed cotton, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
9. Monteith Young, Sarah (dressmaker), Bodice and Skirt, 1893, Silk brocade woven on a
hand loom and lace, height: 140 cm (made from The Flower Garden)
10. Morris, The Flower Garden, 1879. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
11. Morris, Peacock and Dragon, Pair of curtains, 1878, Morris & Co. (manufacturer), handloom jacquard-woven woolen twill, with braid trimmings, Victoria and Albert Museum,
London
12. *Morris, Trellis wallpaper, 1862 (designed), (Webb designed the birds, designer), Jeffrey
(printer), block-printed in distemper colours, on paper
13. Morris, Acanthus wallpaper, 1875 (published), Jeffrey (printer) Morris & Co., block-printed
in distemper colours, on paper, Victoria and Albert museum
14. Morris, Webb and Burne-Jones, Morris room (The Green Dining Room), 1866, Victoria and
Albert Museum, London
Proudly sponsored by
References:
 William Morris: centenary essays (papers from the Morris Centenary Conference organized
by the William Morris Society at Exeter College Oxford, 30 June - 3 July 1996), edited by
Peter Faulkner and Peter Preston, Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1999
 William Morris and the art of everyday life, edited by Wendy Parkins, Newcastle:
Cambridge Scholars Pub., 2010
 Zaczek, Iain, Essential William Morris, Bath: Dempsey Parr, 1999
Webb, Philip, The Red House, designed 1859, Bexleyheath, London
William Morris (designer), Strawberry Thief, furnishing fabric, 1883 (made), Morris & Co. (maker), Indigo-discharged and
block-printed cotton, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Morris, Trellis wallpaper, 1862 (designed), (Webb designed the birds, designer), Jeffrey (printer), block-printed in
distemper colours, on paper