23. The Spies
designed by Godfrey
Blount, produced by
Haslemere Peasant
Industries; 1896
linen
appliqué, embroidery
(V & A Museum)
24. Screen; Walter Crane, made by Royal School of Art Needlework;
London, England; c. 1875; cotton, wool, silk, linen
embroidered (V&A Museum)
25. Panel
printed by Thomas Wardle,
embroidered by Frances Mary
Templeton
England; c. 1892
silk, gold thread; embroidered
(V&A Museum)
26. Daffodil and Bluebell carpet
sample
Walter Crane, woven by
James Templeton & Co
Glasgow, Scotland; c. 1896
jute, wool; woven looped pile
(V&A Museum)
27. Furnishing fabric; Lewis Foreman Day for Turnbull & Stockdale;
England; 1888; cotton; block printed (V&A Museum)
28. Furnishing fabric
Lewis Foreman Day,
printed by Thomas
Wardle
Leek, England
c. 1888
cotton
block printed velvet
(V&A Museum)
29. Collar; designed by Lewis Foreman Day,
made by Ora and Laura Perry, East Devon
Cottage Lace Industry; Honiton, England
c. 1910; bobbin lace (V&A Museum)
30. Cromer Bird
Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo for
Century Guild, printed by
Simpson & Godlee
England; ca. 1884
cotton; block printed
(V&A Museum)
31. Peacock Feathers; Arthur Silver for Silver Studios, printed by
Rossingdale Printing Co for Liberty & Co; England, 1887
cotton; roller printed (V&A Museum)
32. Tiger Lily design for
furnishing fabric
Lindsay P. Butterfield for
G.P.& J. Baker
England; 1896
watercolor on paper
(V&A Museum)
33. Furnishing fabric
Charles Harrison Townsend for
Alexander Morton & Co.
Darvel, Scotland; 1896-1900
wool, cotton; Jacquard-woven
(V&A Museum)
35. Hanging
C. F. A. Voysey,
woven by Alexander
Morton & Co for
Liberty & Co
England, 1896
wool; double cloth
(V&A Museum)
36. Bedcover
C. F. A. Voysey probably for
Liberty & Co.
England; 1888
silk; block printed
(V&A Museum)
37. Carpet
C. F. A. Voysey, woven
by Tomkinson & Adam
for Liberty & Co;
Kidderminster, England;
1896
jute, wool; woven cut pile
(V&A Museum)
38. Furnishing fabric; Sidney Mawson
for Turnbull & Stockdale Ltd for Liberty & Co; England; 1909
cotton; block printed (V&A Museum)
39. Pan Pipes furnishing fabric
Harry Napper for Alexander
Morton & Co.
England; ca. 1898
silk, cotton, wool; double cloth
(V&A Museum)
40. Furnishing fabric; design attributed to Christopher Dresser, printed
by Steiner & Co.; Lancashire, England; 1899
cotton; roller printed (V&A Museum)
41. Two panels
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh
Glasgow, Scotland; c. 1900
silk, linen, metal threads, silk braid
and ribbon, glass beads, and paper
appliquéd, embroidered, painted
(Glasgow School of Art Museum)
Scottish Arts and Crafts
42. * Tablecloth (detail)
Ann Macbeth
Glasgow, Scotland; c. 1900
linen, silk
appliquéd, embroidered in
satin stitch
(V&A Museum)
43. Collar; Jesse Newberry; Glasgow, Scotland; c. 1900
linen, silk, glass beads; embroidered (V&A Museum)
Ann Macbeth, c. 1908
56. Consider the Lilies of the
Field portières
Candace Wheeler for
Associated Artists
New York; 1879
cotton, wool
embroidered, painted
(Mark Twain House,
Hartford, CT)
American
Arts and Crafts
68. Pomegranates head cloth
Margaret Whiting, made
by Deerfield Society for
Blue and White
Needlework; Deerfield,
Massachusetts; c. 1915
linen, wool; embroidered
(Memorial Hall Museum,
Deerfield)
69. “Poppy” quilt
after Marie Webster
United States; 1925-40
cotton
appliquéd, quilted
(International Quilt
Study Center)
70. Coverlet (detail); Lizzie Reagan; near Gatlinburg, Tennessee; c. 1875
cotton, wool; overshot (National Museum of American History)
71. Blue Mountain Room, The White House, c. 1913
(White House Historical Society)
This woven textile shows motifs with an ogival form, based on shapes found in Gothic architecture. Augustus Pugin was an architect, designer and writer who pioneered the revival of neo-Gothic design in buildings and interiors. He produced designs for both ecclesiastical and domestic use including stained glass, furniture, metalwork, wallpaper and textiles. Fabrics based on his patterns were woven by the leading silk and woollen manufacturers of the day and sold through two decorating firms, Hardman of Birmingham and Crace of London. Pugin designed carpets and printed roller blinds for the Houses of Parliament, a Gothic revival building. By rejecting busy early Victorian patterns in favour of stronger, cleaner lines, Pugin laid the groundwork for a new aesthetic which favoured stylisation over naturalistic designs.
Other textiles designed: bloock-printed linen, rugs for Houses of Parlaiment, 2 cotton block print patterns known, silk furnishing fabrics, and ecclesiastical embroidery
Real reform did not begin until after The Great Exhibition in London in 1851. All the products of the mighty British manufacturing sector were on display, and although a superb manifestation of Victorian optimism and British commercial domination, the aesthetic quality of many of the objects continued to be found abysmal.In response to critics, Prince Albert established the South Kensington Museum (later to be called the Victoria & Albert Museum) and the South Kensington Schools (now the Royal College of Art) to improve design by assembling a collection of new and old examples of decorative arts and by teaching from those examples.
Several leading critics of the Great Exhibition were invited to develop a new design philosophy to be taught in the government schools; the most influential on textile design was Owen Jones
Grammar of Ornament published in 1856. It was the most important and influential book of design produced in Britain in the 19th century. Jones gathered together examples from both ancient and modern civilizations. He then re-drew them in accordance with his principles of flat pattern and used an expensive color lithographic process that he himself had helped to improve.
Owen intended his book to be a kind of universal grammar of the process of flat pattern design. It was not the first compendium of historical and foreign ornament styles. But it was radical (and very Victorian) in its attempt to organize all the main branches of ornament, ancient and modern, as if pattern were analogous to language.
However, unlike Pugin, Jones did not believe that one could simply reproduce past styles in a modern context. He believed that architecture and design should be of its time, and that it should look to the ornamental art of the past for inspiration. Though the forms he used were often naturalistic, he reduced them to flat forms in patterns based on his notion of ‘geometrical construction’.
45.5 x 54.5 cm
He applied these principles to textile design- his designs Owen Jones sold a number of designs to the silk manufacturer Benjamin Warner and the alliance between the manufacture and designer proved very successful. The first weaving of this design (noted in the company's accounts) was on 9 July 1874. The quality and sumptuous color combinations of the silk emulates 16th and 17th-century Florentine silks. In the 19th century this epitomized the best of what was called 'Renaissance' work. This pattern has historical roots in both ancient Greek architecture and Egyptian design. The curving leaves are reminiscent of decoration on Greek columns with swaying palmettes in the Egyptian tradition.
This curtain, made from a woven wool and silk furnishing textiles, is one of the few documented designs by Christopher Dresser. One of Dresser's earliest commercial designs, this shows the influence of the work of two earlier British designers, with its traditional geometric frameworks (following A. W. N. Pugin) enclosing stylised floral patterns derived from Eastern sources (Owen Jones).The combination of silk and wool in this textile provided qualities that were much admired by designers and decorators associated with the Aesthetic Movement. The wool gives warmth and a luxurious draping quality, while the silk provides the pattern with colourful highlights.This textile was exhibited in the London International Exhibition of 1871 and was illustrated in the Art Journal catalogue supplement for the exhibition. J. W. Ward & C. Ward, the firm that manufactured this textile, was one of the best-known 19th century British manufacturers of high-quality woven furnishings. They exhibited (under the name of J.W. Ward) at the 1851 Great Exhibition, where they earned an honorable mention, and continued to be a leader in the field, using designs by many of the leading freelance designers of the day.
Arts and Crafts movement had beginnings in the Oxford Movement, A.W.N. Pugin, and John Ruskin’s teaching and writings.
William Morris is principle textile designer and indeed proponent
Part of a group of artists first known as pre-Raphaelites who idealized medieval art and style, he rejected industrial design and manufacturing, and idealized medieval design and society- in everything from dress styles to architecture to furniture to textiles, and in manufaturing processes- he was a socialist who belived that beautiful things were the product of happy workers and advocated a return to the pre-industrial artists-craftsperson/workshop system
Revived pre-industrial techniques, such as indigo discharge printing, tapestry weaving and hand-knotting of carpets, indigo and madder dyeing
Studied historic and Asian textiles, especially carpets, at South Kensington Museum, later V&A, and applied principles to his own work- did not copy directly
Taught himself to weave and embroider, and to discharge indigo
Opened shop in 1861, worked with outside firms to produce designs, then opened own production house at Merton Abbey in 1881
Movement named after the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society- begun in 1888 to exhibit members’ work, as an alternative to the Royal Academy exhibitions
The Day Dream- model is Jane Morris, William’s wife and the epitome of pre-Raphaelite ideal woman- loose, drapey dress without corset
Aethetic movement is concurrent with Arts and Crafts
Inspired by Japanese objects newly available in Europe after opening of Japan to trade, exhibited at World Exhibition in London in 1862
1875, Arthur Lazanby Liberty opened a shop in London selling Asian objects, including Indian, Persian, and Japanese textiles, along with British textiles especially designed for the shop, is the major purveyor of the Aesthetic style
Another reform movement- loose, draped, flowing dresses without corsets- but instead of European medieval past, looks to exotic Asia for inspiration- lighter colors, more open style
By 1880’s many artists were interested in reform design for decorative arts and industry, new developments in painting, and were dissatisfied with the Royal Academy of Art’s exhibtion selection process, which was controlled by a handful of more traditional painters and sculptors.
Several organizations were formed-
The Fifteen, 1881, many future members of A&C including Lewis Day, Walter Crane
H. Mackmurdo, Century Guild, 1882, to bring art and artists into object design
St. George’s Art Society, 1883, students of Richard Norman Shaw, architect, interested in adsign of all kinds of obejcts
Art Worker’s Guild, 1884, absorbed several of the earlier groups, formed to provide a meeting place for artists and designers
Home Arts and Industries Association, 1884, national group of local societies teaching handwork skills to rural and urban working class and marketing their products
In 1887, many of the same artsist formed the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society with the purpose of publicly exhibiting their work in the reform styles and of decorative objects as well as painting and sculpture, as well as work of like-minded artists and craftspeople. First exhibition in 1888,
Liberty & Co was foremost retailer of artistic fashion and home decor in England and
Arthur Lansby Liberty was born into a family of textile retailers, and worked for Farmer and Rogers, a women’s fashion retailer. in 1875 he opened his own shop, Liberty & Co, in Regent Street, London. At first he sold imported objects from India, China, and Japan, but soon started selling Thomas Wardle’s afbrics printed on Indian silk. This was so successful that he began selling other artistic and aesthetic textiles and commissioning exclusive designs from leading designers.
Art Costume department opened in 1884.
Liberty’s was emulated in other cities, such as L’ Art Nouveau in Paris. In Italy Art Nouveau is called Stile Liberty.
Other stores also sold A&C and artistic objects, notably Heal’s department store.
This hand-woven and block-printed tusser silk was manufactured by Thomas Wardle and Co. in around 1875. It shows the influences of Persian and Turkish design, reflecting the manufacturer's interest in historical Eastern patterns, and the more general fashion for exotic patterns in the nineteenth century. The design was also block printed on cotton, and a version was shown at the 1888 Arts and Crafts Exhibition.Thomas Wardle was a leading textile manufacturer and dyer working in Leek, Staffordshire. He took over his father's dyeworks in the early 1870s, and went on to become one of the leading British textile manufacturers of the late 19th century.Wardle was recognised as an expert on the Indian silk industry. He first visited Bengal in 1885, and lectured widely on the importance of the tusser (wild) silk of India. The textured, brown fibres of tusser silk were notoriously resistant to dye, which Wardle successfully overcame in the early 1870s by first bleaching the silk.Wardle was an early member of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and acquired patterns from leading designers such as Morris, Day, Crane, Voysey, and Butterfield. He produced fabrics for stores including Liberty & Co., Heal & Son and Debenham & Freebody, and between 1883 and 1888 he also traded through his own shop on New Bond Street.
Morris’ early textile designs printed by Thomas Wardle; Wardle himself traveled to India to study indigo and madder dyeing and he also imported Indian silks on which to print.
Morris early designs almost exclusively floral, based on English country garden flowers. He believed the ideal pattern should have 'unmistakable suggestions of gardens and fields.' Morris also found ideas for his designs in the simple woodcut illustrations in 16th-century herbals
Used recognizable, simple English flowers, in contrast to the Indian-inspired chintzes
Flowers and stems, he believed, should be seen to be growing naturally. Patterns were evenly distributed across the surface, and the motifs were firmly outlined, and simplified, He selected recognizable flowers and animals from the English countryside, scrolling acanthus leaves or figured strapwork arranged in ogees or meandering lines.
Kelmscott Manor taken as summer home by Morris and Dante Gabriel Rosetti in 1871, decorated by Morris over the decades with his textiles
Hangings and bedcover designed by May Morris
Bedcover embroidered by Jane Morris, hangings by May with Lily Yeats and Ellen Wright
Hangings exhibited at 1893 A&C Society exhibition
270 x 95 cm
This pattern designed for opening of Merton Abbey workshop in 1881 or 1882, and printed for many years- this particular version might be from ealry 20th C, originally designed for indigo dischrage- blue and white
Shows influence of 13th-14th C italian woven silks Morris was seeing at South Kensington Museum
60 x 95 cm
85 x 110 cm
Floral meander, also drawn from woven textiles, in distinctive Morris floral style
Morris textiles extremely popular in last decades of 19th C, infulential in England, continent, and US
68 x 53 cm
Many of Morris's wallpaper designs were based on plant forms which he studied at first hand, either in his own garden or seen on country walks. Wallpaper designs tended to be simpler, always of plant forms, allover repeat.
Tapestry begun at Merton Abbey in 1882, collaboration with Edward Burne-Jones- revived another pre-industrial technique
Central figure designed by Burne-Jones, original background designed by Morris with acanthus leaves and inscriptions
Subsequently rewoven multiple times in scaled-down version
Background designed by J. H. Dearle, the manager of tapestry workshop at Merton Abbey
May Morris is William’s daughter- took up embroidery and designed and produced many wall hangings and portieres
Similar medieval-esqe designs, drawing from Morris’ textile design and tapestries
765 x 399 cm
Morris carpets often called “Hammersmith caprets” after the location of his home in London
Carpets also overseen by Dearle, again collaborates on details of design
One of two woven for Bullersworth house, home of John Saunders, a wool trader- this one for drawing room
62 x 97 cm
Dearle became chief textile designer for Morris & Co in 1890, and art director after Morris’ death in 1896
While Morris was still alive Dearle’s designs followed his more closely, but later he developed a distnctive style with strong Middle Eastern influence
Morris & Co continues until 1940s
About 1890, Annie Garnett set up a class in Windermere to teach spinning and weaving which became one of the most successful ventures of the Home Arts and Industries Bureau. The Spinnery was a self-supporting comemrcial enterprise staffed by trained local people. Garnett directed and designed the production of high-quality wool, silk, and linen fabrics, and later of embroidery worked onto these grounds. The fabrics were popular with art needleworkers in England, and the woven and embroidered domestic items were commercially successful.
Garnett was most interested in weaving, reviving historic structures and experimenting with different yarns. She exhibited woven textiles at the Arts and Crafts Socety exhibitions in 1903, 1906, and 1912, and woven and embroidered textiles at other exhibitions in England. All makers were identified with each piece.
This is a 'peasant tapestry' embroidered in linen. It was designed by Godfrey Blount and made at the Haslemere Peasant Industries in 1896.Handwoven ground fabric.
The Haslemere Peasant Industries was a community of artist craftsmen and women which was set up in Surrey in 1894 in an effort to obtain 'the double pleasure of lovely surroundings and happy work'. Ironwork, pottery, woodwork, fresco painting, hand-press printing, bookbinding, plasterwork and carving were all produced, but textiles were by far their most important crafts. The first weaving sheds were set up by Joseph and Maud King who specialized in hand woven plain and figured materials in linen, silk and cotton. From 1896 appliquéd‚ embroideries, such as this example, were produced by the Peasant Arts Society founded by Godfrey Blount and his wife Ethel Hine. Local women were recruited for the workshops and trained in weaving and embroidery techniques.Godfrey Blount had trained as a painter at the Slade School in London. He was keen to develop the rural ideal of Arts and Crafts philosophy and concentrated on the design of embroideries and hand-woven pile carpets also made by the Society. His designs for embroidered hangings use the simple but very effective technique of linen on linen with linear embroidery in linen thread. Peasant tapestries were designed for a number of different domestic purposes, including portiŠres, casement curtains and bed hangings. They became very fashionable in artistic circles and were sold through various shops. Heal's exhibited a set of bed hangings at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
Royal Society of Art Needlework founded in 1872 to provide employment to impoverished genteel ladies. Designs provided by leading artists and designers, embroidered by ladies and sold. the art needlework movement included many other similar societies as well as individuals working at home. More artisttic input was encouraged by embroidered in choice of stitches and somewhat of colors in following the professional designs. Kits available to replace the Berlin work kits.
This type of screen, made up of embroidered panels, was usually intended to be used as a decorative room divider. This unique example, however, was embroidered as a grand exhibition piece to show off the skills of the designer and embroiderers. The original five panels of this screen represent the four Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The complex composition inspired by historical designs is one that appealed to Walter Crane (1845-1915), who designed the panels. A similar arrangement can be seen in his wallpaper and border designs 'Peacock' and 'Amorini' which were printed by Jeffrye & Co. in 1878.This screen was probably exhibited as part of the Royal School of Art Needlework's section at the Philadelphia Exposition in the USA of 1876. The British work shown there, and especially the Royal School's contribution, made a very strong impact on American audiences. It is now seen as one of the formative influences on American Arts and Crafts design. Crane produced many designs for the Royal School of Art Needlework, which was founded in 1872. It is likely that he was, for a time, under contract to the School.
Five wool embroidered satin panels forming a large, folding, gilt framed screen.The ground of each panel is a coarse, warp faced dull gold satin with a brown cotton weft. Flat stitch embroidery is carried out in crewel wools, mainly in long and short, chain, twisted chain, satin, stem, couching and running stitches with the occasional French knot and more complex filling. The overall colour impression is of a rich brown, gold and silver with details in numerous colours and shades including yellow, red, pink, green, blue, cream and white.The design is derived from grotesque ornament. Common to each panel is a central pillar enclosed by large floral and foliate arabesques and cornucopias on which various creatures (confronted or addorsed regardant) perch. The pillars on panels one, three and five are of a simple, almost Doric-like order wound with snakes and born on the backs of three squatting frogs or toads. The second and fourth screen panels have more florid Corinthian-like columns. There are slight variations in detail, but all pillars are broken at intervals by basins filled with pineapples, pomegranates and other fruits.Along the bottom of each panel are lines in ancient Greek from Theocritus (Idyll XV, lines 78-83) in brown crewel wool couching on narrow strips of natural linen applied to the satin ground.
79 x 79 cm
Leek Embroidery Society founded in 1880 by Elizabeth Wardle, wife of printer Thomas Wardle, whose workshop was in Leek
Developed a style based on embroidering over prints by her husband, adding detailed shading in fine work, known as Leek embroidery
111 x 69 cm
Walter Crane was a founder member and first president of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He was one of the best known and most versatile artists and designers of his generation and designed tapestries, carpets and woven and printed fabric amongst many other types of object. He also worked as a painter and book illustrator.
James Templeton & Co., established in 1839 in Glasgow, became a foremost producer of artistic carpeting in the 1880s, buying patterns from designers like Voysey, Day and the Silver Studio. They were particularly interested in the work of the Glasgow School of Art, employing a number of ex-students.
The design, of meandering bluebell stems interspersed with daffodils, marks the interest of Arts and Crafts designers in the forms and colors of British garden flowers, which inspired many repeating patterns for textiles.
This block printed cotton with a meandering repeat of stylized leaves was designed by Lewis Foreman Day for Turnbull & Stockdale in 1883. Its swirling, rhythmic pattern is typical of many Arts and Crafts fabrics of the late 19th century. Day was a founder member of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society and one of the most commercially aware and successful designers of his generation. From 1870 he produced free-lance designs for all kinds of textiles, wallpapers, ceramics and furniture. He lectured on design and wrote many books and articles on the subject for leading publications. In 1881, Day became the Artistic Director of Turnbull & Stockdale, a Lancashire textile printing firm and gave 'a unity to the firm's goods'. His style is eclectic and often derivative, but his draftsmanship is excellent. Day also sold his designs to many other fashionable firms and shops.
31 x 33.5 cm
Lewis Foreman Day was a founder member of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society and one of the most commercially aware and successful designers of his generation. From 1870 he produced free-lance designs for all kinds of textiles, wallpapers, ceramics and furniture. He lectured on design and wrote many books and articles on the subject for leading publications. In 1881, Day became the Artistic Director of Turnbull & Stockdale, a Lancashire textile printing firm and gave 'a unity to the firm's goods'. His style is eclectic and often derivative, but his draftsmanship is excellent. Day also sold his designs to many other fashionable firms and shops.
This collar was designed by L. F. Day (1845-1910), a founder member of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, and one of the most commercially aware and successful designers of his generation. It may have been exhibited in the 1910 Arts and Crafts exhibition. According to the catalogue, there was a 'case of lace' which included a 'collar of Devonshire lace. Executed by Ora and Laura Perry...of the East Devon Cottage Lace Industry'.
60 x 77.5 cm
Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo wastrained as an architect, a member of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, along with Morris, and founding member of the Century Guild- another design collective for decorative objects, Much of their work was commissioned and sold through the Bond Street shop of Wilkinson & Sons.
The dynamic movement of the leaves of the design looks forward to Art Nouveau style motifs.
71 x 79 cm
Arthur Silver founded Silver Studios in 1880, textile designs in Aesthetic style sold to Wardle, French printers, others, early Art Nouveau evidence
Peacock feathers an emblem of Aesthetic followers, used for fans and dress accessories as well as hung on walls and displayed in vases in the home.
This design for a textile is a superb example of Lindsey Butterfield's skills as a draughtsman and watercolorist. The pattern was sold to G.P.& J. Baker, and was printed as a textile on a white ground in 1896.Lindsey Butterfield (1869-1948) was one of the most successful freelance designers of patterns who worked in the Arts and Crafts style. This design is in the Arts and Crafts style. Butterfield later went on to work for the Silver Studio, an influential design firm which produced many patterns for wallpapers and textiles up to the 1950s.Butterfield trained at the National Art Training School at South Kensington from 1889 to 1891 where he studied the underlying geometry of plants. This training resulted in a close attention to the detail of plant forms in his designs. He was also a keen gardener with a firsthand knowledge of plants, as this design shows. Butterfield's early designs were based on plant forms that were recognizable but subtly stylized, deriving their influence ultimately from designers William Morris (1834-1896) and C.F.A. Voysey (1857-1941).
This woven furnishing textile was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend and woven by the firm of Alexander Morton & Co. of Darvel in Scotland. The exact date of production of this textile is not known but stylistically it can be dated between 1896 and 1900, when it was illustrated in the Art Journal magazine.C.H. Townsend (1851-1928), the designer of this textile, was chiefly known as an architect. His most famous creations are the Whitechapel Art Gallery and The Horniman Museum, both in London, two of the most important British Arts and Crafts buildings. He produced only a few large-scale designs for textiles.The firm of Alexander Morton & Co. was one of the most forward-looking manufacturers of the late 19th century. It bought designs from leading artistic figures of the day in line with the firm's policy to produce innovative furnishings for artistic homes. This is part of the 'Cessnock' range of heavyweight weaves for hangings, all of which were made with the same yarns and texture. It was also referred to as a 'Darvel tapestry', named after the place where it had been woven.The design of this textile shows traditional repeating motifs reminiscent of 16th and 17th-century Turkish velvets. Its name also indicates an eastern theme and may have be based on the epic Persian poemThe Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, translated by the British poet Edward Fitzgerald and first published in 1859.
Called 'Lily and Border', the pattern was drawn by J.I. Kay for G.P. & J. Baker who printed it at their Swaisland Print Works, Crayford in 1899 (Baker design B552, border B634). Details of both designs can be found in Baker's first block-book which is still in the possession of the firm.Similar fine silk bed covers and hangings (see T.157-1985 and T.5-1986) were printed for Liberty's and Heal's shops although the Baker block-book gives the Baker code as being the originator of the design.The donor states that her father-in-law bought the bedcover from Liberty's at the beginning of the 20th century so it is likely that Baker's sold the product to the shop after printing rather than acted as commission printers.John Illingworth Kay was a member of the Silver Studio but as he is listed in Baker's records by name, it is likely that he sold this pattern privately.
162 x 162 cm
One of most internationally celebrated designers of his age, the architect C. F. A. Voysey (1857-1941) was also a prolific and versatile free-lance decorative designer who sold variations of the same patterns to a number of different manufacturers. He was under contract to Alexander Morton, the maker of this curtain, to produce a number of designs per year.
The design of this curtain was first used for wallpaper and later adapted for wallpaper friezes and woven textiles. Morton's used Voysey's patterns for many different types of textiles including machine-woven and hand-knotted carpets, woven gauzes and various woven furnishings in wool, silk and cotton. Morton was one of the more innovative manufacturers; this was sold through Libertys’.
Voysey’s textile designs known for stylized birds and florals, elongated, moving into Art Nouveau
Charles Voysey was one of the most original and influential architects and designers of all forms of decorative art working at the end of the 19th century. In 1882 he set up his own architecture practice and from the late 1880s started to design repeating patterns for wallpaper and woven and printed textiles and carpets. This design probably appeared in the 1888 Arts and Crafts Exhibition in London. The show was a great success and received wide publicity, even in mainland Europe. Voysey’s most interesting designs date from this time and are dominated by flowing patterns incorporating pastel-colored birds, animals, hearts, flowers and trees. He sold his work to manufacturers such as G. P. & J. Baker, Thomas Wardle and Alexander Morton. This design was probably sold through Liberty’s, London.
Charles Voysey was one of the most original and influential architects and designers of all forms of decorative art working at the end of the 19th century. In 1882 he set up his own architecture practice and from the late 1880s started to design repeating patterns for wallpaper and woven and printed textiles and carpets. Voysey’s most interesting designs date from this time and are dominated by flowing patterns incorporating pastel-coloured birds, animals, hearts, flowers and trees in silhouette. He sold his work to manufacturers such as G.P. & J. Baker, Thomas Wardle and Alexander Morton. Voysey’s designs were well known in mainland Europe, and though popular with French Art Nouveau designers, his influence was felt more dramatically by the founders of the Modern Movement.
This printed cotton furnishing fabric was designed and manufactured for Liberty & Co. of London. The pattern of intertwined leafing and flowering stems with pairs of birds was designed by Sidney Mawson. Mawson was a free-lance textile and wallpaper designer who, in the early years of the 20th century, had considerable success producing finely drawn naturalistic patterns in clear bright colors, such as this. As with most of Liberty's printed fabrics, this fabric was manufactured by an outside firm, to be sold in the London store as a Liberty fabric, without mention of the designer or manufacturer. This example was produced by the Lancashire firm of Turnbull & Stockdale Ltd. The firm was established in Ramsbottom, Lancashire in 1881, and their hand block-printed textiles are some of the most interesting of the late 19th and early 20th century.
This woven silk, cotton and wool double cloth was designed by Harry Napper for Alexander Morton & Co. in the late 1890s. The fabric is called 'Pan Pipes' and the stylized trees and figures follow the forms of Art Nouveau. The main impetus for using motifs like these came from the rise in popularity of illustrations for children's books as well as Continental poster design.
Napper worked for the textile design firm the Silver Studio from 1893, but left in 1898 to work on a free-lance basis. Absorbing the most fashionable elements of British and Continental design at the end of the 19th century, Napper produced a range of very successful stylized floral designs. He sold to many manufacturers, including G. P. & J. Baker and his textiles were particularly popular in France.
Alexander Morton founded his textile company in Scotland in 1867 and in 1900 moved to a factory in Carlisle. Morton's son James was responsible for buying patterns from most of the leading freelance designers of the day, including Voysey, Butterfield and the Silver Stu
67 x 82 cm
Christopher Dresser was trained in a Governement School of Art under the design philosophy of Jones and his colleagues- somtimes considered the first industrial designer as he considered the manufacturing process of objects in his designs, produced for mass market
He further developed Jones’ principles and argued that because textiles are two-dimensional, they were only properly patterned with flat ornamental patterns, nothing representational
The pattern has been attributed to Christopher Dresser, although it may have been executed by one of his students at this point in his career.
Art Nouveau style, but still non-represenataional and repeating
Wife of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, artist in her own right working mostly in embroidery
Pattern in this era of the “fine artist” husband and textile artist wife
Pioneering use of mixed media on fabric to create an artistic statement
A nearly identical single panel was exhibited at the 1900 Vienna Secession exhibition and at in Turin in 1902- these may have been duplicates, other works in the series, or that very panel, further embellished after those exhibitions and furnished with a mate
Similarities to style of depiction and patterning of Gustav Klimt and Koloman Moser indicate cross-fertilisation of ideas between Glasgow and Vienna in this era
138 x 128 cm
Ann Macbeth artist, taught at Glasgow School of Art, along with Jessie Newbery, part of movement led by Charles Rennie Macintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald
Glasgow School characteristics- muted shades, celtic influence- knots, highly stylized flowers
Glasgow School of Art- Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Herbert McNair, and frances and Margaret Macdonald- established the Galsgow style characterised by highly stylized floral and natural motifs, particularly the rose
Limited stenciled and embroidered peices produced at furst, and no reprating patterns. Embroidery department started in 1890s by Jessie Newberry and Ann Macbeth, and they and their students produced many embroidered pieces in the Glasgow style
Mackintosh's radical architecture had never really been accepted in Glasgow. He left his native city in 1914 to seek work elsewhere.In 1915 he moved to London and, although unable to revive his architectural career, found work as a designer. Most of the designs he produced between 1915 and 1923, when he left for France, are for textiles.
The style of these pieces is very different from his architecture. Here he uses bold colours and organic forms, where before he had a taste for simple geometric design. This may suggest the direction that his architectural work would have taken had it continued.These designs show how Mackintosh's observation of nature fed his work as a designer. After leaving Glasgow, he began to draw from life. His flower drawings (e.g. Green Hellebore) date from this time. Their influence on his new style of design comes through strongly in these pieces.
Original rug created for Finnish Pavillion at1900 Paris Universal Exposition, pavillion designed by Eliel Saarinen and interior designed by Akelsi Gallen-Kallela- very popular with visitors
Design based on Finnish folk art- rya- knotted pile bed rugs, with international arts and crafts style influence
This one at Hvittrask, collective studio and home of Saarinen, Herman Gesililus, and Eric Lindgren; after split-up of architectural firm, retained as summer home by Saarinen after move to US until his death
260 x 149 cm
Märta Måås Fjetterström (1873-1941) was one of Sweden's most prominent textile artists of the 20th century. Her designs were strongly influenced by Swedish textile traditions, in particular folk textiles from Scania (Skåne). The wall hanging shown here, is called 'The Rye' (Rågen), with a stylised rye field in shades of green. It is made of natural linen and vegetable dyed coloured wools and was hand-woven in Fjetterström's workshop in Båstad.
Workshop founded in 1919, gave employment to local women, still in operation
69 x 46 cm
Hector Guimard, architect trained at the École des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, is one of iconic Art Nouveau artists. His work embraced a return to natural, organic forms, incorporating sensuous curves and elaborate flourishes. Designed Guimard interior space, decoration, and furnishings to complement his buildings, down to every detail of upholstery, wall and floor coverings, ceiling ornaments, hardware,
The panel, possibly an insert for the bodice of a dress of cream-colored silk tabby, is embellished with machine embroidery in white and ivory silk and worked in stem and satin stitches. Parts of the design are painted light tan with black details.
Poppies were a popular motif between 1885-1900, influenced by reform designs from England
This textile probably exhibited in Paris Exposition of 1889
In France, Art Nouveau emphasized carved wood and wrought iron, with stencilling or inlay to provide pattern. Textiles were not as important in Art Nouveau design as in English and other countries’ Arts & Crafts, but textiles were designed in the style for upholstery, portieres, and curtains, and were used in many homes that did not convert wholesale to the new style as well.
Henry van de Velde thought women’s dress should emphasze the beauty of its materials.
64 x 80 cm
Alphonse Mucha is one of the artists most closely associated with Art Nouveau style, known especially for his posters; he also designed a few textiles in his typical style: image of a woman wearing ornate jewelry and a flowing gown, as well as the swirling vegetation,
Born in Moravia, moved to Paris in 1880s to study art
French designer Felix Aubert was part of the experimental Groupe de Cinq and Groupe de Six, both forerunners of the “Art for All Movement” in turn of the century Paris; known for textile designs. Specializd in furnishing fabrics designed for architects for specific interiors.
This striking velveteen was manufactured by the Alsatian firm Scheurer, Lauth & Cie., the pattern is also known to have been printed in 1897 by Pilon and Co, a Parisian firm that produced most of Aubert’s textiles.
This outstanding design demonstrates Aubert’s graphic skills and unusual color sense. This example introduces than iconic motif, the water iris that was a hallmark of his textile and interior designs.
Aubert was a key contributor to the Art Nouveau decorative vocabulary. Whereas most French Art Nouveau artists incorporated fantastically exaggerated frenetic whiplash curves in their patterns, Aubert’ds success relied on his sense of restraint and formality. This designs shows his mastery of a composition in which lines and rhythm dominate.
Text From The Gallery of Cora Ginsburg Catalog (2004)
This velvet was sold in the US through Schumacher
Brunschwig and fils and Schumacher both started in 1890s as importers of French textiles. Later they set up their own silk weaving mills. Lyons weavers brought to Patterson, NJ and established silk weaving there. Cheney Brothers in Manchester, Connecticut also wove silk for a while, in addition to the silk embroidery thread they produced for 75 years.
Victor Horta designed the facade of Bing’s shop in Paris
this carpet designed for the home of Ann Boch, a painter in Brussels
Pale blue motifs on ivory ground with orange-red details and border
Part of an 1896 Munich exhibition was an embroidered ìwall hanging with cyclamenî. At first almost unrecognizable as a plant, the cyclamen is drawn in the form of a sinuous curve. Deeply in awe, a visitor wrote: ìThis raging movement seemed to us to reflect the abrupt, violent twists of the cord when lashing a whip.î Not only did his comparison provide the title that would be used for this work from then on, but the explosive force of the impact of the ìwhiplashî took Munichís Jugendstil movement far beyond the city limits.
Der ìPeitschenhiebî (The Whiplash)
The textile designs produced by the German illustrator and graphic artist and designer Bernhard Wenig, give a good indication as to how wide the real scope of the generalised Art Nouveau movement was in Europe at the very beginning of the twentieth century. All four designs were produced in around 1901 and are fine examples of a fairly rapid repeat pattern that was to some extent a speciality of German surface pattern during this period.
Wenig is best known for his work with Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration magazine in the early 1900s, as well as a designer of book covers, book nameplates and textiles.
Portiere by Candace Wheeler, 1884 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
This portiere is one of the most luxurious of Wheeler's textiles; this unfinished panel was undoubtedly meant to be the central section of a larger portiere or curtain. The full-blown pink silk velvet tulips that form the swirling pattern have all been applied to the cloth-of-gold ground, but the detailed embroidery within many of the flowers and the couching stitch edging on the leaves has not been completed. The panel is one of the few remaining examples of Wheeler's work in the appliqué technique, although she used the method for many of her large-scale projects, such as the Madison Square Theatre stage curtains. Appliqué work could be completed relatively quickly and at a substantially lower cost than labor-intensive hand embroidery, and Wheeler prized its ability to create a strong visual impact when she was designing for large spaces.
This portiere was probably made during the early years of her work with the firm Associated Artists, although. interestingly, it is unfinished. The embroidered silk details that enliven the uppermost full-blown velvet tulips were never completed on the lower flowers. Perhaps a client, or Wheeler herself, decided not to include the piece in a decorating scheme. Wheeler's firm did not just produce expensive custom projects like this portiere. Most of the pieces in the Museum's collection are printed and woven fabrics intended for the growing middle-class market.
73 x 76 cm
Candace Wheeler most important textile designer of American Arts and Crafts movement, founding member of Associated Artists, which also included Louis Comfort Tiffany
Developed a distict highly naturalistic style
67 x 67 in
1876- Philadelphia Centennial Exposition- 9 million attended- Japanese dec arts on display-
Silk- Asian material- and velvet- fancy fabrics, not scraps- often ribbons, sometimes political
Fans, cranes, butterflies, characters from “The Mikado” Gilbert and Sullivan opera 1885
Craftsman Workshops founded by Gustav Stickley at Syracuse, NY primarily to produce his wooden furniture
Textiles were introduced in 1903 to complement the furniture, and became a sucessful component of the business. Designs were simple, abstract, natural forms that were easy to reproduce; simple techniques such as stencilling and applique reduced labor costs and made product more affordable, although their textiles and kits were still twice as much or more than other companies’. Designs were available both as kits and as finished products.
These portieres linen applique on “Craftsman canvas” ground. Appliqued on both sides, pink flowers on one side and yellow on the other. The pair retailed for $25.75.
Craftsman Workshops founded by Gustav Stickley at Syracuse, NY primarily to produce his wooden furniture
Textiles were introduced in 1903 to complement the furniture, and became a sucessful component of the business. Designs were simple, abstract, natural forms that were easy to reproduce; simple techniques such as stencilling and applique reduced labor costs and made product more affordable, although their textiles and kits were still twice as much or more than other companies’. Designs were available both as kits and as finished products.
These portieres linen applique on “Craftsman canvas” ground. Appliqued on both sides, pink flowers on one side and yellow on the other. The pair retailed for $25.75.
Most US fabric manufacturers did not embrace the new style, but continued to produce floral chintzes and revival styles. Colonial Drapery Fabrics was one company that did produce Arts & Crafts-style designs, printed onto sheer cotton and intended for drapery fabric. The company also suggested that the motifs might be cut out and appliqued to other fabric to produce pillows, curtains, table runners, etc. Items such as purses and bedcovers made of these fabrcs are indeed found. Other companies that produced A&C prints include Cheney Brothers and Arnold Print Works.
Newcomb College in New Orleans, Louisiana established one of the first crafts programs in the US in 1886, with textiles courses added by 1902, taught by Gertrude Roberts Smith. Eventually curriculum included embroidery, spinning, and weaving, with a goal of objects produced by a single craftsperson from design, spinning, weaving, through final embellishment. Handcrafted objects produced at Newcomb became very popular, sold at the school, by mail order, and through shops and galleries nationwide. Remembered mostly for pottery, but at the time embroidery was just as important and products advertised as “Newcomb Pottery and Embroidery- Arts and Crafts of the South.”
Commonly employed coarse linen grunds and silk embroidery threads. Designs were stylized motifs inspired by flora and fauna of the south.
Other craft school included Berea College, Phi Beta Pi Settlement School, Pendland school of Crafts, Rabun Industries, etc. Often concieved as income-generating schemes for impoverished people, as well as a way to uplift their spirits through artistic endeavor and ennoble the object through handcraft.
Ayers, American Arts and Crafts Textiles
Art Needlework movement dissmenated through mail-order catalogs, ladies magazines, etc
These patterns could be ordered as kits with printed pattern and embroidery yarns in correct colors; designs reflect Arts & crafts style, bold and more conventional florals
Art Needlework movement dissmenated through mail-order catalogs, ladies magazines, etc
These patterns could be ordered as kits with printed pattern and embroidery yarns in correct colors; Morris & Co, Craftsman Studios, etc all had kits
This handmade dress is embroidered with an asymmetrical design in natural colors of mustard, rust, khaki, and blue on the skirt, sleeves and bodice.
Middle-class women used hand skills to adorn a variety of textiles in their homes. By far the most popular technique was embroidery, but stencilling, batik, and block printing were used and promoted in ladies’ magazines. Decorative items included garments, collars, cuffs, slippers, as well as pillow covers, table covers and scarfs, and even curtains or bedcovers.
Founded in 1896 by friends and fellow artists, Ellen Miller and Margaret Whiting, the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework produced exquisitely designed and executed embroideries in Deerfield, Massachusetts, for close to thirty years. Referred to by Ellen Miller as "our Virtuous Sweatshop," at its peak the organization trained and employed between twenty-five and thirty needle workers, most of whom lived in town.1Because the Blue and White Society gave aesthetic considerations primacy over all other concerns (such as the affordability of its products or improving the lives of its workers) the thriving organization was highly protective of its reputation. In aiming "to produce...embroideries of the highest excellence," one journalist noted, "no classes are held," by the Society, "to teach the general public, nor are designs or materials sold." A highly visible seal ensured a work's authenticity, "the mark of the Society--a flax wheel holding the letter D in the center-- is wrought upon every finished piece of embroidery, both as a protection under the law and a seal of approval of the work."2 The seal was designed by photographer Mary Allen, who was one of the Blue and White Society's first embroiderers.
Twenty-two large, stylized pomegranates spring forth in a celebration of vitality and abundance, from the branches of a tree rooted in a delicately woven basket. Over five feet wide and six feet high, Pomegranates is the largest of some half dozen Blue and White Society works featuring this symbol of fecundity and well being. The pomegranate was a popular motif with both colonial needleworkers and Arts and Crafts artisans. This head curtain is part of a set of bed hangings created for Gertrude Metcalf of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Stitched with hand-dyed indigo blue and fustic golden yellow thread on a linen ground, tradition suggests that Pomegranates garnered the silver medal for color and design at the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915.Other craft school included Berea College, Phi Beta Pi Settlement School, Pendland school of Crafts, Rabun Industries, etc. Often concieved as income-generating schemes for impoverished people, as well as a way to uplift their spirits through artistic endeavor and ennoble the object through handcraft.
89 x 77 in
Late 19th C, printed quilt patterns began appearing in ladies’ magazines, newspapers, mail-order catalogs such as the Sears catalog
Edward W. Bok was editor of Ladies Home Journal from 1889-1919. In 1905 he began comissioning prominent artists and designers to create quilt patters to publish, including Maxfield Parrish and Jesse Wilcox Smith.
In 1911, Ladies’ Home Journal begins publishing quilt designs by Marie Webster- she was 50 years old when she made her first quilt in 1908. Had been to England and France in 1900, designed her own pattern, which became a best-seller when published by LHJ.
Designs based on traditional quilt designs and layouts using garden flowers as motifs, but updated rendering of motifs and color combinations; begins era of “name” quilt designers
Poppy design is one of most popular- sold as kit and as printed pattern
Kits contained pre-printed fabrics, thread, and quilting motif instructions
Coverlets fall out of general use by 1860s, as industrially-produced woolen cloth supplants artisan weavers
Overshot weaving continues at home in isolated areas such as Appalachia, and is revived in late 19th and early 20th C as income-generation activity by charities operating in area
This blue and white overshot coverlet of wool and cotton, woven in the pattern known as "Lee's Surrender" was, according to the donor, purchased from Aunt Lizzie Reagan at the Arrow Craft Shop in Gatlinburg, Tenn. An authority on vegetable dyes, Aunt Lizzie was well known for her efforts to reintroduce the "old" methods of hand spinning and weaving at the Phi Beta Phi Settlement School in Gatlinburg. Initially created in the late 1880s, these settlement schools evolved through the efforts of benevolent societies that brought together and established communities among the people of Appalachia in an attempt to encourage, preserve, and develop their material culture. These traditional handicrafts, such as needlework, weaving, and basketmaking allowed the men and women of Appalachia to share their artistic skills with others, receive recognition, increase their household incomes (through the sale of their goods), and in turn provide schools to educate their children. The arts and craft revival of Southern Appalachia continues to flourish today and has securely established the rich artistic tradition of the mountain communities.
This photographic postcard depicts the use of handwoven textiles in the weave pattern Sun, Moon, and Stars to decorate President Woodrow Wilson's White House bedroom around 1913. The room came to be known as the Blue Mountain Room. First Lady Ellen Wilson hoped to encourage an increased public interest in the plight of those living in the Appalachian Mountains through the extensive use of handwoven textiles. Elmeda McHargue Walker of Tennessee (or Elkin, North Carolina) wove the blue and white material for the curtains and furniture. Allie Josephine Mast (1861 -1936) of Watauga County, North Carolina, wove the rugs and other fabrics. Walker lived a few miles from Allanstand, North Carolina and was a weaver who sold goods through Allanstand Cottage Industries in its early years.
Crystal style- of the type of design promoted by John B. Moore of the Crystal Trading Post in New Mexico. This deisgn was featured in his 1911 catalog as a special design.
Handspun wool with both natural colors and aniline dyes.
