The leading figure of the Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris
(1834-1896) is one of the best-known and most popular of all British
designers. A passionate advocate of craftsmanship over mass production,
he designed a huge variety of objects, but it is his spectacular carpet,
fabric, and wallpaper patterns that have continued to capture the
popular imagination and influence interior designers and the decorative
arts. Around six hundred such designs are attributed to Morris, most of
which are based on nature, including trees, plants, and flowers.
This beautifully designed, accessibly priced gift book offers a wealth
of designs by Morris where flowers are the principal motif. The text
traces the origins of Morris's flower-based designs: his own gardens at
the Red House in Kent; sixteenth- and seventeenth-century herbals;
illuminated medieval manuscripts; late medieval and Renaissance
tapestries; and the range of decorated objects, particularly from the
Islamic world, that Morris studied at the South Kensington Museum, now
the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Authored by Rowan Bain, senior curator at the William Morris Gallery,
and lavishly illustrated with over one hundred color illustrations,
William Morris's Flowers will both inform and delight.
