William Morris - Continued

While working on the project, Morris met Jane Burden and married her in 1859. Philip Webb designed their first home, the Red House in Kent. As might be expected from members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, there was a strong medieval influence and the furniture and decoration was designed either by Morris or his friends. Although his friends contributed designs, Morris did those for stained glass, in collaboration with Burne-Jones, and for embroidered wall hangings, amongst others.

This led directly to the formation of the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Co. in 1861. It was a co-operative and aimed to produce all decorative objects needed for a home including stained glass, embroideries, hand-painted tiles, furniture and wallpaper. It could be said to mark the start of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Although the friends won numerous awards for their work, they were not businessmen and the company lost money and so had to subsidised by William Morris. Also, during this period, in 1871, Morris moved into his final and best-loved home, Kelmscott Manor in Gloucestershire where today visitors can see some of the best of his work.

By 1875, the co-operative was restructured and became just Morris & Co. While some members were contributing little as their own careers became successful, others were bitter at the closure of the co-operative. One of these was Rossetti but he had been having an affair lasting some years with Jane Morris, so perhaps this was the real cause of acrimony between the two men.

Morris & Co was organised on much more commercial lines with a showroom in Central London and, later, extensive works at Merton Abbey in South London. It was during this period that some of William Morris’ most famous designs were done including chintzes, wallpapers and woven textiles.

Paradoxically, Morris, a lifelong socialist, wanted to bring beautiful handmade objects into the lives of rich and poor alike but his insistence on using costly traditional methods meant that only the wealthy could afford his products. In spite of this, William Morris can be seen as the founding father of the Arts & Crafts Movement and a profound influence on design ever since.

(This article first appeared in the monthly magazine Antiques & Collectables.)

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Copyright © 2005 Carol Fisher