During the 1870's, American Anglophiles
became acquainted with the Arts & Crafts Movement, first introduced through interest in the
Gothic Revival and the paintings and writings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The art and
architectural criticism of Ruskin, which laid the foundation of the movement, and lectures on
decorative arts of William Morris were available at the Boston Athenaeum and other American
libraries as soon as they were published in London. Morris & Company began to sell their
wallpapers in Boston in 1873, and by the mid 1870s had representatives for their growing line
of wallpaper, fabric and carpet in many major American cities. Inspired by English work, Arts
& Crafts artisans and workshop groups around America began producing their own designs by end
of the 1870's, with especially strong centers of activity in Boston and Cincinnati. The Arts &
Crafts Movement also shaped American architecture, especially with the development of the Queen
Anne Revival, and with emerging styles that were based on the "old-fashioned homes" of the
American Colonial period: the Shingle Style and the Old Colony Style. The first generation of
Arts & Crafts artisans employed a diverse expression of styles, which drew inspiration from
England, but also from Japan and from the regional traditional crafts and architecture of
America.
Arts & Crafts Movement ideas were given an
even wider audience during the 1882 American tour of Oscar Wilde. He championed Morris, the
Pre-Raphaelites and the design and art-manufacturing philosophy in lectures presented in over
120 North American towns and cities. By the mid-1880's, English designs and locally made Arts &
Crafts products were specified by trend setting American architects and selected by affluent
homeowners for the most stylish and fashionable American townhouses, suburban cottages and
country villas. It was the children who grew up in these artistic homes of the 1880s who became
patrons of Gustav Stickley, subscribed to the Craftsman Magazine, and built bungalows for their
first homes.
An anthology of writings on interior design by
William Morris and his contemporaries, with information about the early years of the Arts &
Crafts Movement in England and America.
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Arts & Crafts Movement Furniture for the Idaho Building at the Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893.
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Thoughts on House Decorating , by Walter Crane.
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Art is Thoughtful Workmanship , by W.R. Lethaby, 1915.
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Gossip About an Old House on the Upper Thames, by William Morris.
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Embroidery on William Morris's Bed at Kelmscott Manor..
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The Decorative Arts, Their Relation to Modern Life and Progress, an address
delivered before the Trades' Guild of Learning, London, Dec. 4, 1877, by William
Morris.
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The Lesser Arts of Life, an address delivered before the Society for the Protection
of Ancient Buildings, London 1882.
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"The Morris Exhibit at the Foreign Fair, Boston, 1883 - 84."
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Art and The Handicraftsman, a lecture presented in America by Oscar Wilde, 1882.
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House Decoration, a lecture presented in America by Oscar Wilde, 1882.
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The English Renaissance of Art, a lecture presented in America by Oscar Wilde, 1882.
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Visits To English Arts & Crafts Landmarks.
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The Art of The House: Some Principles of Decoration, by Rosamund Marriott Watson, 1897.
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Vinland, a Newport, Rhode Island, house decorated by William Morris.
from J. W. Burrows & Company
www.burrows.com/found.html
