New William Morris Society Exhibition on Art of Wallpaper
Displays feature designs from the Sanderson Design Group archive
Displays at the exhibition (left) and Flowers and Rococo Scrolls, c. 1850, William Woollams and Co. (right)
April 3, 2024
A new exhibition on the art of wallpaper has opened at the Coach House, Kelmscott House on Upper Mall hosted by The William Morris Society.
Featuring designs on loan from Sanderson Design Group, The Art of Wallpaper: Morris & Co. in Context runs until 11 August.
Sanderson was the owner of Morris & Co and responsible for the manufacture of many of the designs that were so popular in Victorian homes. The company recently announced that it was moving its archive and its design function back to its original home in Voysey House in Chiswick
The exhibition features a range of wallpapers from Sanderson's own archive, which are rarely on public display, to chart the development of wallpaper design in the 19th century and its remaining legacy today.
Hammersmith resident William Morris (1834-1896) was a Victorian poet, craftsman, socialist, and one of the world’s most successful pattern designers. The Art of Wallpaper features many wallpapers he designed for his company Morris & Co. and explores his design legacy. Early 19th century French wallpapers are contextualised with Islamic inspired designs of the reform movement prompting Morris’s own response and contribution to interior design trends of the time.
Originally curated by Mary Schoeser for Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, this exhibition looks at the work of William Morris in a new light, placing his wallpaper designs within the context of the radical changes in taste witnessed during the Victorian era. Morris’s distinctive patterning is set against a backdrop of the fanciful, naturalistic patterns that typified the fashionable English and French papers of his youth.
Kelmscott House in Hammersmith. Picture: Google Streetview
The Coach House is at Kelmscott House, 26 Upper Mall, Hammersmith (W6 9TA) and the exhibition is open Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 2 – 5pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.
The William Morris Society exists to make better known the life, work and ideas of William Morris, designer, craftsman, poet and socialist. The Society’s premises are in the Coach House and basement of Kelmscott House, Morris’s Hammersmith home for the last 18 years of his life.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |