Arts & Crafts a Movement through Time

A line between art and human existence

● The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts.
● It developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the
British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America.
● Initiated in reaction against the perceived impoverishment of the decorative arts and the
conditions in which they were produced, the movement flourished in Europe and North
America between about 1880 and 1920.
● In Japan it emerged in the 1920s as the Mingei movement. It stood for traditional
craftsmanship, and often used medieval, romantic, or folk styles of decoration.
● It advocated economic and social reform and was anti-industrial in its orientation.
● It had a strong influence on the arts in Europe until it was displaced by Modernism in the
1930s, and its influence continued among craft makers, designers, and town planners long
afterwards.
● The term was first used by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson at a meeting of the Arts and Crafts
Exhibition Society in 1887, although the principles and style on which it was based had been
developing in England for at least 20 years.
● It was inspired by the ideas of architect Augustus Pugin, writer John Ruskin, and designer
William Morris.
● In Scotland it is associated with key figures such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
● The Arts and Crafts Movement originated in Britain during the late 19th century.
● It was characterized by a style of decoration reminiscent of medieval times.
● The primary artist associated with the movement is William Morris, whose work was reinforced with writings from
John Ruskin.
● The movement placed a high importance on the quality of craftsmanship while emphasizing the importance for the
arts to contribute to economic reform.
● Morris was instrumental in the founding of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., which would later evolve to just Morris &
Co.. Morris & Co. and their publishing division Kelmscott Press contributed much of the work that is associated with
the Arts and Crafts movement.
● The style is associated with many different types of design including architecture, typography, book printing, textile
and interior design.

Standen House,
Cowper Rose, Designed by Philip
William Morris, Tulip William Morris, Tulip
Sydney, Australia Roth, 1891
and Willow, 1873 and Willow, 1873
● The Arts and Crafts movement emerged from the attempt to reform design and decoration in
mid-19th century Britain.
● It was a reaction against a perceived decline in standards that the reformers associated with
machinery and factory production.
● Their critique was sharpened by the items that they saw in the Great Exhibition of 1851, which
they considered to be excessively ornate, artificial, and ignorant of the qualities of the materials
used.
● Art historian Nikolaus Pevsner writes that the exhibits showed "ignorance of that basic need in
creating patterns, the integrity of the surface", as well as displaying "vulgarity in detail". Design
reform began with Exhibition organizers Henry Cole (1808–1882), Owen Jones (1809–1874),
Matthew Digby Wyatt (1820–1877), and Richard Redgrave (1804–1888), all of whom deprecated
excessive ornament and impractical or badly made things.
● The organizers were "unanimous in their condemnation of the exhibits." Owen Jones, for
example, complained that "the architect, the upholsterer, the paper-stainer, the weaver, the
calico-printer, and the potter" produced "novelty without beauty, or beauty without intelligence."
● From these criticisms of manufactured goods emerged several publications which set out what
the writers considered to be the correct principles of design.
● Richard Redgrave's Supplementary Report on Design (1852) analyzed the principles of design
and ornament and pleaded for "more logic in the application of decoration."
● Other works followed in a similar vein, such as Wyatt's Industrial Arts of the Nineteenth Century
(1853), Gottfried Sempers Wissenschaft, Industrie und Kunst ("Science, Industry and Art")
(1852), Ralph Wornum Analysis of Ornament (1856), Redgrave's Manual of Design (1876), and
Jones's Grammar of Ornament (1856).
● The Grammar of Ornament was particularly influential, liberally distributed as a student prize and
running into nine reprints by 1910.
● Jones declared that ornament "must be secondary to the thing decorated", that there
must be "fitness in the ornament to the thing ornamented", and that wallpapers and
carpets must not have any patterns "suggestive of anything but a level or plain".
● A fabric or wallpaper in the Great Exhibition might be decorated with a natural motif
made to look as real as possible, whereas these writers advocated flat and simplified
natural motifs.
● Redgrave insisted that "style" demanded sound construction before ornamentation, and
a proper awareness of the quality of materials used.
● "Utility must have precedence over ornamentation."
● However, the design reformers of the mid-19th century did not go as far as the
designers of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
● They were more concerned with ornamentation than construction, they had an
incomplete understanding of methods of manufacture, and they did not criticize
industrial methods as such.
● By contrast, the Arts and Crafts movement was as much a movement of social reform
as design reform, and its leading practitioners did not separate the two
● William Morris (1834–1896) was the towering figure in late 19th-century design and the main influence on the Arts
and Crafts movement.
● The aesthetic and social vision of the movement grew out of ideas that he developed in the 1850s with the
Birmingham Set – a group of students at the University of Oxford including Edward Burne-Jones, who combined a
love of Romantic literature with a commitment to social reform.
● By 1855, they had discovered Ruskin.
● The medievalism of Malory's Morte d'Arthur set the standard for their early style. In Burne-Jones' words, they
intended to "wage Holy warfare against the age".
● Morris began experimenting with various crafts and designing furniture and interiors.
● He was personally involved in manufacture as well as design, which was the hallmark of the Arts and Crafts
movement.
● Ruskin had argued that the separation of the intellectual act of design from the manual act of physical creation was
both socially and aesthetically damaging.
● Morris further developed this idea, insisting that no work should be carried out in his workshops before he had
personally mastered the appropriate techniques and materials, arguing that "without dignified, creative human
occupation people became disconnected from life".
● In 1861, Morris began making furniture and decorative objects commercially, modelling his designs on medieval
styles and using bold forms and strong colours.
● His patterns were based on flora and fauna, and his products were inspired by the vernacular or domestic traditions
of the British countryside.
● Some were deliberately left unfinished in order to display the beauty of the materials and the work of the craftsman,
thus creating a rustic appearance.
● Morris strove to unite all the arts within the decoration of the home, emphasizing nature and simplicity of form.
The Arts and Crafts movement emerged from the attempt to reform design and decoration in
mid-19th century Britain. It was a reaction against a perceived decline in standards that the
reformers associated with machinery and factory production.

This is one of the oldest books that

started the movement.
● Today, in the era of smartphones, social media, virtual reality, and
3D printing, technology is evolving faster than ever.
● And although new technological advancements can be exciting,
they can also become overwhelming.
● In the last few decades, increasingly sophisticated mass
production methods have led to an abundance of choices for
consumers, but with that sometimes comes a loss of individuality
and quality.
● For example, many of us can relate to visiting a friend’s house
and noticing that they have the same IKEA rug/picture
frame/throw pillows as you.
● More and more people are therefore rejecting machine-produced
products in favor of handmade items from independent retailers,
crafters, and artists.
● This social trend mirrors the original Arts and Crafts Movement of
the 19th century, when people advocated a return to traditional
craftsmanship during the industrial revolution.
● Today, rather than completely reject modern technology, artists
and consumers alike can use the Internet in their favor.
● Online stores like Etsy allow people easy access high quality
craftsmanship and one-of-a-kind pieces. This in turn allows many
contemporary artists and designers to make a living from their
craft—an option that may not have been possible pre-Internet.
The Revival Ceramic Art
● In opposition to mass consumerism and copy-cat products, today there ● During the original Arts and Crafts movement,
are many communities of craftspeople who are working to create pottery was produced by companies such as
unique, hand-crafted ceramics, textiles, and furniture. Grueby, Marblehead, Newcomb College, Teco,
● Each with their own unique approach, and materials, they value the and Rookwood.
traditional crafts of the past, but often add a modern twist. ● Their production methods usually relied on the
● From innovative ceramic artists and furniture designers, to textile artists preference of just one individual, who would
who are creatively pushing the boundaries of an age-old art, here’s just have crafted the works by hand using a pottery
some of those contemporary artisans who are masters of their craft. wheel.
● Today, many small studio potters are rejecting
mass production techniques and returning to
traditional roots, working by hand to produce
limited edition, or one-of-a-kind ceramics.
The Arts & Crafts we are more familiar with are the ones we put together for children ages 12
and under. Little fun activities to keep them occupied and to just have fun.
When did the movement begin?
Who started the movement of arts And crafts?
What is one of the styles created for arts and crafts?
Where can we see arts and crafts today?
What is one type of art piece that is considered to be art and crafts?