The Art and Crafts Movement

The art and crafts movement developed in England during the late 19^th century, this style was taken up by American designers. In United States this movement was called the mission style. This style was inspired by the social change by John Ruskin together with William Morris.

John Ruskin born on February 8 1819 in London and died on the 20^th of January 1900 in Lancashire, he was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, draughtsman and a water-colourist.

William Morris was born on the 24^th march in 1834 in London and died on October 3 1896 in London. He was en English textile designer. He is associated with the Pre- Raphael's  brotherhood, and English arts, and crafts movement.

At this time manufactured goods were very poor in design and quality. Ruskin and Morris wanted the workers to be inspired; because of this the worker could produce beautiful objects. The goal of this was to create good design for the people. The craftsmen could make objects which could improve people’s life. The ideas from the designs were from the medieval Europe and Islamic sources. Japanese ideas were also used to the early art and craft forms. The forms of the art and crafts movement were mainly rectilinear and angular. William Morris and Charles Voysey were important because they were the first to introduce this.

Charles Francis Annesley Voysey was an English architecture and furniture and textile designer, he was born in Yorkshire 1857 and died in 1941 in Winchester.

The designer Owen Jones published a book called ‘The Grammar of ornament ‘which was a book of historic decorative design elements. At this time the English art and crafts wasn't so far in front, they had problems with craftsmanship and mass marketing.  Decorative pieces which could only be bought by rich people, the idea of this art for the people it didn't make sense and not a lot of craftsmen could be employed because they needed to be fine craftsman.  The English art and crafts had another word which was the aesthetic style for arts and crafts. In United States the art and crafts of design were  realising the expense of fine craftsman, Gustav Stickley tried to employ middle class consumers which means good craftsman were needed. By using factory methods for the basic joints and the craftsmen for the finishing’s and he produced good furniture which still survives.

Bibliography:

The Arts and Crafts Movement. 2013. The Arts and Crafts Movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm. [Accessed 30 March 2013].

ogle. 2013. Google. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.google.com.mt/#hl=en&gs_rn=7&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=zsMzxjMMtnsBntUOv4e89w&pq=william%20morris&cp=11&gs_id=1b&xhr=t&q=charles+voysey&es_nrs=true&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=charles+voy&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=1aa99d71829b9e0f&biw=1366&bih=643. [Accessed 30 March 2013].