The Beauty of Life: William Morris and the Art of Design

Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Decorative Arts & Design

The Beauty of Life: William Morris and the Art of Design Details

Review "Beauty, which is what is meant by art ... is no mere accident to human life, which people can take or leave as they choose, but a positive necessity of life." Read more About the Author Diane Waggoner is associate curator in the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Read more

Reviews

I was scarcely aware of William Morris until recently. This book has been a valuable entree to his life and work for me. Diane Waggoner edited this volume, which features chapters written by Pat Kirkham, Waggoner, Gilliam Naylor, and Edward Bosley.What makes this book intriguing to me is the various facets of Morris' life that are covered--from "The Firm" (Morris & Company) to stained glass to books to decoration of houses to his publishing company to his politics. I am especially intrigued by his interest in atypical political activists such as Peter Kropotkin.He counted among his friends some of the leading Pre-Raphaelites and other ambitious young men of the era, including Ford Madox Brown, Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Edward Burne-Jones, Philip Webb, and so on. In the Introduction, Waggoner notes the value of the collection of Morris' works at the Huntington Museum. Kirkham's chapter, "William Morris: A Life in Design" begins with an apposite quotation from Morris (Page 20): "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." Kirkham notes the breath of his work (Page 21): "One of the most famous figures of his day, [Morris[ was a poet, a novelist, translator, social activist, environmentalist, entrepreneur and designer of a wide range of objects, including embroidery, tapestry, furniture, carpets, stained glass, tiles, textiles, wallpaper, books and type."Indeed, one of the glories of this book is the rich set of examples of his art and craft. Included are photos of his stained glass, his embroidery, his books, and so on. The luscious visual portrayal of his artifacts makes this a fine introduction to his work. one doesn't need to visualize his works in one's mind--they are there to see and appreciate and savor. Important, too, of course, is his philosophical perspective on these products.Chapter by chapter, one gets a sense of the wide variety of his work. While Morris was not particularly interested in the United States (according to Bosley's chapter), the U. S. proved receptive to many of Morris' ideas. The chapter focusing on the U. S. notes that some movements appear to have been in the spirit of Morris, including the Shakers (I'm not so sure, but I'm not an expert!). For example, Trinity Church in Copley Square in Boston is noted as influenced by the ideas of Morris (including the installation of stained glass designed by Burne-Jones for Morris & Company).At any rate, I found this a fascinating volume, as I became much better acquainted with the work and philosophy of William Morris.

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