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A rt and craft movement is a move-

ment at the end of the industrial revo-
lution that emphasizes work commit-
ment and beauty. Its adherents reject
the aesthetics produced by mass pro-
duction, which are considered the main
cause of the loss of individual beauty.

Art and craft movement gives the im-

pression of returning to the Gothic,
Rococo and renaissance periods. One
of the main characteristics is that the
artwork is made individually by artists
with a distinctive artistic touch. Every
work is taken seriously and thoroughly.

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 Arts and Crafts Movement – Historical Context
In the world of art, the Arts and Crafts
movement is assigned as style in deco-
rative and fine arts, active between 1880
and 1910 inspired by the strong An-
glo-Saxon tradition of craftsmanship
and spread internationally from Great
Britain and Europe to North Ameri-
ca, Australia and Japan in the 1920s.
At the time of the beginning of the
movement, in the last decades of the
XIX century, societal context in Great
Britain was predominantly influenced
by the Industrial Revolution and fin-
de-siecle fascination with new tech-
nologies, which brought the commer-
cialization to the craftsmanship. New,
industrially made design patterns, ele-
ments of interior and crafts were cheap-
er and simplified versions of artisanal
crafts and soon overflown the market,
all interiors and the art scene in general.
Contemporary critics found that the new
trend was endangering the art scene with
its awkward commercial aesthetics and
they detected the need of the rediscover-
ing new principles of beauty within the
art and crafts production and moreover
for re-establishing of humanistic values of
pre-industrial times. The major event of the
end of the XIX century, meaningful for the
birth of the movement, was the Great Ex-
hibition of 1851 in Crystal Palace at Hyde
Park in London from 1 May to 11 October
1851 that shown items which, according to
critics were too vulgar artificial, industrially
produced and totally ignored the qualities
and the performances of the materials used.
The ornament was the crucial point of dis-
agreement between craftsmen and archi-
tects from one hand, and the industrials
from another. Influential authors of the
epoch, agreed in the thesis that the orna-
ment should be secondary to the decorated
item, and which is more important to be
conceptually connected and derived from
the material qualities, and inseparable from
the design vision of a whole. Suggestions
about the future of the design were in di-
rection of the revival of craftsmanship and
(re)humanization of the design process.
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 Theory, Philosophy and
Social Background of the
Movement
Before we move to the subject of the day, let’s see some of the charac-
teristics of Arts and Crafts movement and its theoretical background.
Its ideology derived from critical thoughts of two influential figures
– art critic John Ruskin and writer and designer William Morris.

The figure of John Ruskin was essential to the theoretical back-

ground and directly followed by birth of Arts and Crafts move-
ment, because his writing on art was of great influence on pub-
lic taste in Victorian England. Furthermore, in his art essays,
he addressed social problems and context of the Industrial
Revolution, which brought social consequences to the work-
ingmen, with special emphasis on craftsmen and their welfare.

Ruskin developed the ideas of rediscovering the craftsmanship and

restoring the pre-Victorian ideals of beauty, which were further de-
veloped in writings and art practice of William Morris, respectful
designer of the time. Ruskin’s idea of “servile labor”, the result of the
industrial capitalism, was embraced by Morris and put in practice in
his design philosophy. Ruskin and Morris placed a great value on the
production by hand, believing that factory work alienated workers
from the fruits of their labor, depriving them of satisfaction and joy.

Furthermore, they criticized the rise of the consumer socie-

ty, consumer goods of poor design and quality that were enter-
ing the market but also museum exhibitions. Their philosophy
was influenced by populist and socialist ideas and consequently,
it resulted in the vision of art and design made “by the people
and for the people” with a special focus on the joy of craftsman-
ship. Their aesthetic and critical ideas shaped the philosophy and

AR
style of Arts and Crafts movement and new design tendencies. Joseph Paxton – The Crystal Palace, London,1851

William Morris – Ornaments – Left: Tulip and Willow, 1873 / Center: Windrush, 1881-83 / Right: African Marigold,
1876 via artifactory

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RTS
Characteristic Style
New aesthetics brought the objects that were based on
clear natural forms, patterns have repetitive character and
creatives were insisting on elegant, vertical and elongat-
ed forms, with the strong reminiscence on the pre-Vic-
torian, late medieval, renaissance and gothic influences.
Décor elements were reduced to cleanse the lines and
to purify the forms, to emphasize accordance of the
materials and global sense of the harmony in inte-
rior design. Long before the famous maxim of Mies
Van Der Rohe “The Less is More”, William Morris stat-
ed “the less, the better”, and paved the official direction
to modern design and the philosophy of Modernism.
Along with Art Deco, decorative style we discussed some
time ago, Arts and Crafts Movement could be identi-
fied as the earlier prequel to Art Nouveau, Modernism
and Modern Art in general, since it is relied on the uni-
ty of artistic media and it was oriented towards the pro-
duction of functional objects with high aesthetic value.
Therefore, artists and manufacturers are encouraged to
abandon the excessive Victorian ornamentation and to dis-
cover the clarity of lines and shapes focusing on the material
properties and qualities.
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 WO
Judy Chicago – The Dinner Party

Women Artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement, 1870-1914

In her book Women Artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement, 1870-1914, Anthea Callen, professor-elect in
the department of the history of art, University of Nottingham, and formerly research professor in the histo-
ry of art, De Montfort University, Leicester, deals with less known and brings “her-story” of the Art and Crafts Movement.

Callen chose to conduct research on women art and craft practices without the strict hierarchical structure or insisting on major
roles and influential artworks in order to show a broader presence of women, the intensity of their work and its political significance.

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 Women in Arts and Crafts
Movement – Significance and
Heritage
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the interpreta-
tion of Arts and Crafts movement in relation to the female art pro-
duction. It is true that the movement was sympathetic towards wom-
en and many woman authors became accomplished professionals,
able the compete with their male colleagues. The art education for
women was also encouraged at the end of the 19th and the begin-
ning of 20th century, as more girls were allowed to enter art schools.

However important Arts and Crafts movement was for the education
and emancipation of women, it also implicitly kept the division between
fine arts and crafts. Women were encouraged to participate in decora-
tive arts and at the same time, they were deprived of fine art education
that was reserved for the male members. It wasn’t until the seventies and
the emergence of Feminist Art Movement that female artist began their
fight for the equal place in the art world by addressing the traditional
notions of crafts and decorative arts and the idea of “female aesthetics”.

Judy Chicago’s installation The Dinner Party especially focuses on the

OMEN
idea of “domestic art” and the way women’s work stayed undervalued
through the time.

The Arts and Crafts movement has a conflicting status when it comes
to art by female authors, but remains a significant source of inspiration
in contemporary women’s art, whether it is being praised, questioned or
critiqued.

Anthea Callen - Women Artists of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

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 A
Wright home in Chicago. Photo from Wikipedia: Courtesy of John Delano, Photographer.

As in many Frank Lloyd Wright homes, the architecture and lines of furniture design during this period fo-
cus on rectilinear lines and angles. The term Mission style was also used to describe Arts and Crafts Furni-
ture and design in the United States. William Morris and Gustav Stickley are the American movement origi-
nators with their streamlined furniture design. They believed design should be honest, with the use of the
item leading the design. Frank Lloyd Wright is well known for his idea of allowing form to follow function.

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 Architecture of the Arts and
Crafts Movement
The Arts and Crafts movement started in England in the last half of the Nine-
teenth century. Americans are generally more familiar with late Nineteenth and
early Twentieth century Mission Style design, which stemmed from this move-
ment and became popular by the work of architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Today,
there is a resurgence in the love of quality craftsmanship and handmade goods.

The baubles, turrets, and spindles of the Victorian Era were laid to rest for a
more practical, utilitarian design that focused on craftsmanship. John Rus-
kin and William Morris believed in social reform, they believed good design
would in turn bring on a “good” society. The quality of craftsmanship and the
skill of the creator gave people a reason to be proud. The concept: If the peo-
ple are proud of their work and their belongings they will be happier in life.

ARCH
Rain Chains for Craftsman Style Design Renovations.

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 Prominent Women Art-
ists and Female Art and In America, the situation was slightly better for
Design Associations women, as the popularity of Arts and Crafts move-
ment coincided with the progressive era and the
idea that economic independence was desirable
Although art histories mostly focus on male
for women. In Boston, Saturday Evening Girls
designers and guilds, there were several as-
Club founded the Paul Revere Pottery, allow-
sociations created by women for women that
ing the girls to earn good wages from their crafts.
have influenced the further development and
allowed greater exposure to female creatives.
Another important association of female art work-
ers was Newcomb Pottery under the auspices of the
One of the most influential figures in Arts and
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, an educa-
Crafts movement was Mary “May” Morris, the
tional institution for women. In addition to pottery
daughter of William Morris. Although her en-
and embroidery, there were influential female cre-
gagement stayed in the shadow of her father’s
ators working in jewelry design. Florence Koehler
for many years, May Morris’ contribution to
and Marie Zimmermann are among the best-known
the movement cannot be overlooked. She was
female jewelers in Arts and Crafts movement.
among the best embroidery creators and jewel-
ers in the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain.
When it comes to Arts and Crafts architecture we
need to mention the figure of Julia Morgan who
As a designer and the executant of her work, she
was one of the pioneering professionals in the field,
opposed the idea of labor division showing that
the first woman to be admitted to the program at
women are not limited to the subordinate posi-
l’École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris
tions. She also rebelled against the idea of female
and the first woman architect licensed in California.
exclusion from the art guilds and established Wom-
en’s Guild of Arts in 1907 providing a much-need-
ed platform for female artisans to collaborate,
make connections and gain professional status.

Mary Morris - Scottish coastal view

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Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
May Morris – Embroideries
In 1887, the creatives gathered around the Arts and
Crafts movement formed the Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Society to display decorative arts and its achievements,
in order to broaden the field of fine arts and include
the new decorative practices. Promotion of the new
philosophy was held trough the annual exhibitions at
the New Gallery in London in three years from 1888 to
1890 and despite its commercial debacle were of great
importance for the future life and influence of Arts
and Crafts Movement, first in Britain and then abroad.
After the first three years of public engagement of the
practitioners trough the museum and gallery exhi-
bitions, the newly formed society published the Arts
and Craft Essays in 1893, and writers include the il-
lustrator and designer Walter Crane, president of the
Society, as well as William and May Morris, T. J. Cob-
den-Sanderson and Ford Madox Brown. standards.
Following exhibitions were more and more
successful, and the crown was the retrospec-
tive exhibition of William Morris in 1899.
The Society entered the new century with new and
productive exhibitions in 1906, 1910, 1912 and
1916, activating different locations and spread-
ing the movement across the country. One of the
major results of these collaborative activities of
the prominent creatives in Britain is setting the
book of standards within the newly formed De-
sign and Industries Association in 1915, in order
to directly affect and improve national industrial
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 Arts and Crafts Movement – Influences
The Arts and Crafts Movement broadly influenced the
fields of fine and applied arts, architecture all decora-
tive art and nouveau practices as well as craftsman-
ship at the turn of the century both in Continental Eu-
rope and North America, as well as Australia and Japan.
In the following period from 1910 to 1925, in architecture,
design and decorative arts, the philosophy and the values of
the movement spread through the magazines and influenced
the new “Craftsman”-style housing, adaptation of the Euro-
pean Arts and Crafts philosophy for the American context.

In Europe, many movements simultaneously flourished as The American Craftsman became predominant style and with
reaction to the industrialization of the craftsmanship – the the concept of well-decorated middle-class homes directly in-

INFLU
aforementioned Art Nouveau, Art Deco or Style Mod- fluenced so-called Chicago “Prairie School” and practice of
erne in France or the Viennese Secession. Among those in- Frank Lloyd Wright, George Washington Maher among others.
fluenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, there is the
folk-art movement, which affirmed vernacular building Across the world, in Japan, the return of tradition in 1920s is
style in Hungary, and romanticism in Finland and Russia. seen as influence of the British and American Arts and Crafts
Movement and the writings of Morris and Ruskin in artwork
Soon after the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, of Yanagi Sōetsu, creator of the Japanese Folk Art Movement.
the Arts and Crafts Movement flourished in New York State
Area and so its principles entered the formal education.

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 Controversial Position of
Female Artisans
The Arts and Crafts movement was at its peak in the
years between 1880 and 1910 in Western Europe and
the United States, also spreading to Japan in 1920’s.
During those years, a large number of designers, ar-
chitects, manufacturers and workshops adopted the
ideas proposed by William Morris and John Ruskin.
LU-
Among those art practitioners, many were women.
However, the position of women workers in the field
of Art and Craft is a controversial one. Although there
were many female artisans, their artwork is still un-
der-recognized compared to their male peers. If we want
to better understand the role of female creatives in this
movement, we should take a closer look at the social
and cultural position of women in the Victorian era.
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MOR
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 “If you want a golden rule that will fit
everything, this is it: Have nothing in your
houses that you do not know to be useful or
believe to be beautiful.”

-William Morris

RRIS
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 In Memoriam

William Morris
Father of Arts & Crafts Movement

24 March 1834 - 3 October 1896