William Morris

William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites

William Morris (1834-1896) was a socialist, writer and craftsmen.

His career as an artist began at Oxford and after graduation he ended up in London, painting under the direction of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the leading light of Pre-Raphaelites (a loose group of artists intent on regaining the spiritual purity characteristic of art before Rapheal and the Renaissance.

In 1861 William Morris founded Morris & Co whose designs came to embody the ideas of the Arts and Crafts Movement .

William Morris's own designs for fabrics, wallpapers and numerous other products were to prove a massive influence in Britain (the Laura Ashley aesthetic is a lineal descendant of Morris's rustic nostalgia).

In 1890, William Morris set up the Kelmscott Press named after his summer home, Kelmscott Manor.