Robin Langley Sommer and David Rago (editors), The Arts and Crafts Movement. Rochester: Grange Books, 2003.
Large format (32 x 24 cm), hard cover, dustwrapper, 144 pages, superbly illustrated.
Fine condition.
Inspired by a combination of aesthetic and social ideals, the Arts and Crafts Movement emerged in England in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Idealists like John Ruskin, the eminent art critic and social theorist, and William Morris, a designer of rare talent and scope, deplored the ugliness of mass-produced goods made from cheap materials on the assembly line. They called for an end to dehumanising industrial conditions and a return to the standards of craftsmanship practised by the mediaeval guilds, whereby a community of workers produced well-designed handmade goods for daily use and created such works of art as the Gothic cathedral. Morris was the moving power behind Ruskins principles, attracting into the movement a host of friends, including the Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and architect Philip Webb. They focused on rediscovering the beauty of natural materials and honest craftsmanship.
The movement's ideals spread rapidly into Europe and the United States, where utopian social theory usually played a role secondary to that of the design aesthetic. Innovative designers like Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Gustav Stickley rekindled enthusiasm for beauty and high quality, whether in architecture, landscaping, metal work, graphics, furniture, ceramics, glassware, or jewellery. Wright was preeminent in blending the aspects of his work into a harmonious whole that seemed to grow out of its natural setting, as in his Prairie House designs. In Europe, the movement led to the establishment of Vienna's Wiener Werkstätte, with its Guild Craftsman approach, and to the emergence of art Nouveau. Scandinavian designers like Georg Jensen set new standards that were widely admired and emulated. Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh was, in turn, influenced by trends in Europe and the United States.
This beautiful volume showcases the work of arts and crafts designers across the spectrum. Illustrated by more than 150 stunning photographs, it surveys an exciting chapter in the history of the decorative artsone that is still being written today.
