William Morris’ Flowers

William Morris (1834-1896) was a passionate advocate for handicraft over mass production. He designed a multitude of objects, but it is his highly original carpet, textile, and wallpaper patterns that continue to capture the imagination and profoundly influence the decorative arts. Morris is credited with creating around 600 such designs, the vast majority of which were based on natural forms, including trees, plants, and flowers.

This beautifully designed publication brings together Morris’s rich output of designs featuring flowers as a primary motif, encompassing not only finished patterns but also working sketches in pen and watercolor, and even the pear-wood printing blocks he carved with floral designs. In addition, the book explores the sources of inspiration for Morris’s floral designs: the gardens he cultivated at Red House in Kent, Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire, and elsewhere; 16th and 17th-century herbals; medieval illuminated manuscripts; late medieval and Renaissance tapestries; and decorative objects from the Islamic world that Morris studied at the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum).

Written by Rowan Bain, Senior Curator at the William Morris Gallery, this richly illustrated and delightful book features nearly 100 color illustrations.