For wallpaper lovers who were not able to catch this exhibition in its original form at the Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, it was a treat to be able to view it at the Coach House of Kelmscott House on the banks of the Thames. William Morris (1834-1896) lived in Kelmscott House from 1878 until his death in 1896 and though the house is now privately owned, the William Morris Society has the perfect home in its coach house and basement rooms where you can see the original printing press used in the production of the Kelmscott Press Chaucer.
Kelmscott House (privately owned)
The exhibition, understandably cut down from the original, explores how the values of honesty, simplicity and propriety in design, advanced by designers and architects such as A W N Pugin and Owen Jones, along with William Morris, sought to counter the prevailing Victorian taste for naturalistic floral wallpaper designs and establish new principles for decorative patterning.
After 1830, continuous rolls of wallpaper became available, giving a major boost to the industry and rendering wallpaper a signifier of a respectable household. While the wealthy chose lavish detailed block-printed papers from France that imitated rich textiles, the middle-classes could find representations of popular garden flowers such as roses, morning glory, campanula and azaleas in the wallpapers of manufacturers like William Woollams & Co.
Left: ‘Louis XII’ Embroidery Wallpaper, c.1887, Paul Balin
Right: Border of roses and azaleas with gold rococo decoration, c.1846, William Woollams & Co.
However, Pugin and Jones, the leading lights in the Reform Movement, condemned such papers as ‘design debauchery,’ promoting instead designs based on regular geometry and ecclesiastical motifs. Jones, best remembered for his classic work The Ornament of Grammar, in which he outlined his 37 principles of good design, advocated looking to non-Western pattern for guidance in tasteful and balanced decoration. He suggested the use of outlines to stylise and enhance natural motifs such as flowers and foliage, something which is widespread in William Morris’s wallpaper designs.
Left: A W N Pugin, Palace of Westminster Wallpaper c.1848, Samuel Scott for J G Crace
Right: Owen Jones, Alhambra, 1852, William Woollams & Co.
Christopher Dresser, sent by the British Government in 1876-77 as an official representative to Japan, when it first opened up to trade with the West, helped enthuse Europeans for Japanese style. His work influenced William Morris who adapted his own Vine, Chrysanthemum and Sunflower designs, using embossing and lacquer to enhance the patterns, in imitation of Japanese leather papers. Pasteboard versions were created by Jeffey & Co. for the British market and the influences flowed both ways, with Morris papers proving popular in Japan.
Chrysanthemum 1879, Jeffrey & Co. for Morris & Co.
The Arts & Crafts Movement, founded by William Morris and John Ruskin to counter the mass production taking hold of the decorative arts, promoted the principles of handcrafting, honest toil and the use of natural materials, and its effects and legacy are naturally included in the exhibition.
William Morris, Fruit, 1864, Jeffrey & Co. for Morris Marshall, Faulkner & Co
Wallpapers by John Henry Dearle, C F Voysey and Walter Crane are displayed, emphasising the widespread influence of the movement and The Poppy, a popular design by A F Brophy, who is perhaps less of a household name, from 1890, shows how wallpaper design moved into the looser more flowing lines of art nouveau.
A F Brophy, The Poppy, 1890, Arthur Sanderson & Sons
This small exhibition can only provide a succinct overview of William Morris and his historical context, but it does so well. The fact that his designs are still popular today is proof of his enduring legacy.
Lucy Ellis
All photos by the author