Directory of Morris, William Resources

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William Morris (1834-1896) was born in Walthamstow, Essex, the son of a wealthy city stockbroker. He was educated at Marlborough public school, then went to Oxford, where he met Edward Burne-Jones and Philip Webb, both of whom became lifelong friends. Both Morris and Burne-Jones intended entering the Church, but they gained inspiration from the writings of John Ruskin, and decided they wanted to become artists. Ruskin saw the work of Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as 'the dawn of a new era of art'. Through Burne-Jones, he met Rossetti and other Pre-Raphaelite painters. Encouraged by Rossetti, Morris turned from architecture to painting, and was at the same time writing poetry. In 1859 he married Jane Burden, the archetypal Pre-Raphaelite beauty with brooding eyes, who appears in several of Rossetti's paintings. Early in their marriage they moved into 'Red House' in Bexleyheath, Kent, which had been designed for them by Philip Webb. Here the Morrises and their friends conceived the idea of 'The Firm' in 1861. Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co, later to become Morris & Co, famous for its arts and crafts work. His greatest achievement as a designer was in the field of textiles and wallpapers. In 1883 became a socialist and along with Walter Crane, Eleanor Marx and Edward Aveling formed the Socialist League. Strongly influenced by the ideas of William Morris, the party published a manifesto where it advocated revolutionary international socialism.

Subcategories

• Stained Glass
• Works

Resources in This Category

• Founders Of The Arts and Crafts Movement

  http://www.burrows.com/found.html
  Anthology of writings on interior design by William Morris and his contemporaries; information about the early years of the movement in England and America. From JR Burrows - historical design merchants.

• Friends of Red House

  http://friends-red-house.co.uk/
  The Red House in Bexley, England. Designed by Philip Webb for William Morris. Includes photographs, bibliography, visitor information with online booking, and membership information.

• Morris and Co.

  http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/morris/morisco.html
  Company founded as a direct result of the design, decoration, and furnishing of the Morris's new home, Red House (situated in what is now a South London suburb) by a group including Morris himself and a number of his friends and associates. From The Victorian Web.

• Religion in Willam Morris's Work

  http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/morris/wmrelig.html
  A short piece from the Victorian Web by George P. Landow, Professor of English and Art History, Brown University.

• Spartacus Educational: William Morris

  http://spartacus-educational.com/Jmorris.htm
  Biography from Spartacus Educational about the life and work of William Morris. Covers his Arts and Crafts work, and his Socialist reforms ideas.

• The Roots of Arts and Crafts

  https://www.utoledo.edu/library/canaday/exhibits/artsandcrafts/roots.html
  Article from the University of Toledo about the birth of the arts and crafts movement, whose primary proponents were William Morris and Jogn Ruskin.

• The William Morris Internet Archive

  http://www.marxists.org/archive/morris/
  Contains William Morris' political writings as well as artist's biography and a collection of photographs.

• The William Morris Pages

  http://www.larry-arnold.net/literature/index.htm
  Article on Morris by Laurence Arnold. Includes Morris texts and graphics, a comprehensive list of Morris books (from Amazon) and a William Morris discussion group.

• William Morris (1834-96)

  http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speel/illus/morris.htm
  Notes on William Morris, especially relating to his activities as an artist and illustrator and his relations with the arts and crafts and with the Pre-Raphaelites. From Bob Speel.

• William Morris Home Page

  http://www.morrissociety.org/
  About the 19th century British craftsman, designer, writer, typographer, and Socialist. Events and publications, the William Morris Society, links and other materials.

• William Morris: A Brief Biography

  http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/morris/wmbio.html
  Biography from The Victorian Web by David Cody, associate professor of English, Hartwick College.

Related Categories

• Home > Arts > Art History > Periods and Movements > Arts and Crafts
• Home > Arts > Art History > Periods and Movements > Pre-Raphaelites
• Home > Society > Politics > Socialism > Marxism

 

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