Ray Watkinson: William Morris As Designer

Lahri Bond wrote this which first ran on Green Man Review.

William Morris, along with the Pre-Raphaelite circle he was loosely connected with, was one of the most influential and unsung art forces of the nineteenth century. It’s ironic that those who are only familiar with the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites know of Morris chiefly from the portraits of his wife Jane Morris, as painted by her lover, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Morris the man had a profound influence on the many forgotten parts of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, contributing poetry, architecture, functional arts and crafts, critical analysis and forward-thinking views of social justice. Though Ray Watkinson’s excellent book touches on all these aspects of Morris’ career, he focuses mainly (as the title suggests) on William Morris as designer.

Morris’ main talent may have been his keen eye for what was beautiful from the past. The book showcases his many drawn and painted studies of borders from medieval manuscripts, Egyptian ornamentation, Persian abstract symmetrical designs and Asian naturalism. He assimilated these influences, and then reinterpreted them in his beautiful and elegant original designs that were used in everything from wallpaper to stained glass.

His work as a designer is particularly impressive when seen as a whole, for his art was translated into a wide variety of complex mediums by himself, and some of the best artists and crafts people of his day. A fine example can be found in Plate 19, The Romaunt of the Rose. This is part of a frieze that Morris designed with late-period Pre-Raphaelite Burne-Jones for Sir Lowthian Bell’s house in Rounton Grange, Northallerton. The piece shows a typically ethereal Jones-style woman, dressed in medieval garb among rose-trellised vines, with wool, silks and gold worked into the frieze by Bell’s wife and daughter.

Elsewhere can be found the gorgeous stained glass windows in the Parrish Church of Middleton, Cheney, Northamptonshire. Morris designed all the beautiful silhouetted figures of saints and Bible characters, and Watkinson kindly shows both the pencil drawing and finished section depicting Eve and the Virgin Mary.

Morris’ textile designs are given much coverage throughout the book. These are some of his most famous designs, and they depict highly stylized and detailed patterns of grape vines, honeysuckle and blackthorn bushes and even strange patterns of seaweed, complete with fanciful blue flowers. It is clear from these, and other examples, that both Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites ushered in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements of the following century. [Editors note -- And the Arts and Crafts Movement too.]

Throughout the rest of the book we are treated to examples of Morris’ carpet designs, with potted tree of life motifs, woven fabrics depicting real and mythical birds, elegant furniture with Morris’ painted panels, and highly decorated pages for Morris’ own books of poetry. With some ninety-one illustrations (26 in color), the book is a feast for the eyes for those who have a taste for highly detailed and ornamented art.

(Trefoil Publications, 1990)