{"id":452,"date":"2014-02-16T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-16T17:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/16\/william-morris-textiles-and-interior-design-2\/"},"modified":"2014-02-16T17:41:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-16T17:41:00","slug":"william-morris-textiles-and-interior-design-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/william-morris-textiles-and-interior-design-2.html","title":{"rendered":"William Morris – Textiles and Interior Design"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nWilliam Morris<\/h1>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
William Morris  Decor and Design, Elizabeth Wilhide, Abrams, Inc., NY, 1991<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n<\/div>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\nOne
\nof the greatest influences of interior design in the 19th<\/sup> C was the
\nwork of William Morris.  Born in 1834 in
\nthe village of Walthamstow, Northeast of London, Morris was brought up in a
\nprosperous family with eight siblings. 
\nHe entered Exeter College, Oxford 
\nto ready theology , intent on entering the clergy but while there began
\na friendship with Edward Burne-Jones and Charles Faulkner.  These, and other friends began to explore
\nliterature of the medieval period particularly poetry.  Inspired by medieval history and
\narchitecture Morris and Burne-Jones decided upon a life of design (Morris did
\nfinish Oxford with a degree in Theology). 
\nBurne-Jones became a painter and Morris studied as an architect,
\napprenticing under G.E. Street, a leader in the Gothic Revival Movement of that
\ntime.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nStreet
\nhad a unique view which was to greatly influence Morris, that of the architect
\nbeing influential not only in the design of a building but also in its interior
\nelements, i.e textile and glass design. When Morris met Dante Rosetti he
\ndecided to abandon architecture in favor of painting.  It is fortunate for Morris that he had favorable financial
\nsecurity so that he could pursue these various interests.  In1860 Morris married Jane Burden whom he
\nhad engaged as a model and they moved into Red House, designed by Philip
\nWebb.  It was Red House that would serve
\nto begin Morris\u2019s new career in the decorative arts.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
William Morris Textiles, Linda Parry, Weideenfireld and Nicolson, Londan, 1983<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nIt
\nis Morris\u2019s textile designs that I speak of today.  One of the reasons for Morris\u2019s success was, basically he was a
\n\u201cprocess\u201d artist.  By that I mean he was
\nadamant about learning technique (whether modern or classic) before starting a
\ndesign.  His knowledge of history served
\nhim well as well as his love of nature. 
\nWhen designing natural elements he designed in mass, using a profusion
\nof flowers, leaves and vines.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nIn
\n1861 Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was founded, with Burne-Jones,
\nRosetti, Webb and Ford Maddox Brown  as
\nfounding members, each with an area of specialization.  The firm designed handpainted tiles, stained
\nglass, embroidery and furniture.  In
\n1875 the firm was dissolved and Morris & Co. was formed.  From this time the emphasis was interior,
\ndomestic design.  Morris designed
\nwallpaper, printed and woven textiles, carpets and tapestries as well as his
\nfamous embroideries.  <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nDue to his rigid standards, Morris & Co was not hugely profitable and it was to
\nMorris\u2019s dismay that only the wealthy were able to purchase his expensive
\nfabrics and wall coverings.  His
\nworkshops did produce, however, kits for embroidery and a range of affordable
\naccessories. Morris died in 1896.  His
\nyounger daughter, May, continued his tradition until her death in 1938.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nFurther Reading<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Textiles of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Linda Parry,Thames and Hudson,  London, 1988<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

William Morris William Morris  Decor and Design, Elizabeth Wilhide, Abrams, Inc., NY, 1991 One of the greatest influences of interior design in the 19th C was the work of William Morris.  Born in 1834 in the village of Walthamstow, Northeast of London, Morris was brought up in a prosperous family with eight siblings.  He entered…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinnamonstudio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}