Last month I received the pleasure of attending the William Morris exhibition in the York Art Gallery. The newly anticipated exhibit opened on 27th of September and is here until the 23rd of February, showcasing over a hundred and thirty of his works spanning across the 19th century and into the early 20th century.
Upon entering the exhibit, I found I was immersed in a sea of colour, shape, and pattern. Each of the three huge rooms provided an exquisite array of Morris’ most famous designs, paired with inviting details and notes about processes, reasons and influences. The exhibit was much larger than I anticipated and had a fun ‘give it a go’ table where you could become your own version of a wallpaper designer – using a lightbox, paper, and pens.
In the first room I was amazed by the huge printing blocks displayed in a series of glass cabinets.This sounds like an unusual part of the exhibition to rave about, but the sheer size and
extravagance of them fascinated me. The intricacies of composition and line, and the processes involved in such a unique art form. You see, when I had previously admired the classic Morris designs – printed on
some curtains, maybe a novelty tea towel – and of course on walls – I never thought to envision the process that occurred for a design to be copied and created!
When viewing Morris’ works it was so nostalgic and comforting to see some patterns that I had seen so many times before but never fully had the time to appreciate, co-existing alongside beautiful new pieces with intriguing new concepts and style’s that I would never have attributed as those belonging to Morris. A key example of this was his ‘Chrysanthemum’ design – a flower he used extensively in his work and throughout different periods of his career. You could see in the display how it evolved with the times and with his ever changing artistic passions. It began with pastel greenish and bluish tones with quite a detailed backdrop behind the individual flowers, but then in the final room of the exhibition there is also the ‘Chrysanthemum’ in muted yellow and white – conveying his artistic maturation.
As I observed Morris’ designs, I also found myself needing to understand him as an individual and discover his influences, muses, and experiences. And so I began to read each plaque – learning that he was not always destined to become such the renowned artist that we know him as today. In fact, he initially trained to become a priest, but during his time at Oxford university and then consequently his travels, his mind was soon widened to his artistic capabilities. Another factor in this newfound appreciation of art was his friendship with the eminent pre-raphaelite artist, Edward Burne-Jones. He was also thrust into the midst of the most prolific Victorian artistic circles by marrying Jane Burden, who was one of the most popular muses for Dante Gabriel Rossetti at the time.
It wasn’t until he decorated his first home with Jane that Morris Interiors and Co was established (1861). Morris was also an artist to be admired for his rejection of industrial mechanisms and the emergence of mass production, and due to this continuous ethical rebellion, everything Morris and Co made was initially to be crafted by hand. However, due to cultural change and industrial advances Morris also established the key influence of Japanese art into his work – which he would continue to include for years into his craft.
Personally, after visiting the exhibition, my favourite piece was his paper that is self-explanatorily entitled ‘Rose’ (1877). I learned that this particular piece emerged through his adoration for mediaeval art which, upon reflection, I can now see as it has a very fantastical and other-worldly illustrative tone about it. As I reflected on each description of Morris’ designs, I realised I had naïvely never even thought that his ideas and careful selections could have deeper meanings other than aesthetic ones, almost as if each was
a mini painting in itself. For example, ‘Rose’ symbolised the Virgin Mary, peace and love. Historically it was also linked to returning crusaders who brought back a heightened appreciation of the rose, prized for its beauty and fragrance.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the extensive exhibition and felt as though I had really been educated on the printing process that went into Morris’ craft. I was able to understand and appreciate his art on
a deeper level and now have a higher regard for him as a creator.