William Morris His Philosophy and Working Practices

Introduction This essay is going to look at the life of William Morris and his working practices by analyzing his writing and historical and social background, and discuss to what extent Morris’s actual practices reflected his views on social and artistic reform. William Morris and the Victorian Britain William Morris is one of the most famous British designers of the 19th century. Although his reputation today relies on his textile designs and decorative arts business, he was actually far more than just a designer. He was a poet, writer, socialist, and activist. Morris was born in Walthamstow, a rural area in East of London, on 24th March 1834. His father, William Morris Senior was a bill broker, and the Morris family was relatively†¦show more content†¦In his writing, he says: â€Å"For the lesson Ruskin here teaches us is that art is the expression of man’s pleasure in labour; that it is possible for a man to rejoice in his work†¦that unless man’s work once again becomes a pleasure to him, the token of which change will be that beauty is once again a natural and necessary accompaniment of productive labour, all but the worthless must toil in pain.† (Harvey and Press, 1996, p. 196) It is clear that Ruskin was the one who was significant for the formation of Morris’s ideal. Ruskin had a very strong opinion about the degraded morality of the society, and also he was concerned about the value of art, particularly the Decorative art being disregarded (Harvey and Press, 1996). Morris reinforced his view on situations of art and craft world at the time through reading of Ruskin, and he eventually came to succeed to Ruskin’s philosophy. Morris and his friends started to see themselves as a ‘medieval brotherhood’; which later Edward Burne-Jones, who was the member of the brotherhood, said that it was â€Å"Holy warfare against the age† (Burdick, 1997). Morris began to hate the perfectionism of mechanical mass production. It was his concern about the Victorian hierarchy that eventually drove him to admire the medieval art. Establishment of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner Co. William Morris wrote in preface of Art and Craft Essays, â€Å"The position which we have to face then isShow MoreRelatedLearning Is Viewed As One Of The Most Important Interactive Activities1643 Words   |  7 Pagesof John Dewey and Maria Montessori, and compare their theory and practice in education. John Dewey was born October 20, 1859 in Burlington, Vermont, famous educator of the 20th century. 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