May Morris
Encyclopedia
Mary "May" Morris was an English
artisan
, embroidery
design
er, socialist
, and editor. She was the younger daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite
artist and designer William Morris
and his wife and artists' model
Jane Morris.
May Morris was born on 25 March 1862 at Red House
, Bexleyheath
, and was named Mary as she was born on the Feast of the Annunciation.
May learned to embroider from her mother and her aunt Bessie Burden, who had been taught by William Morris. In 1881, she enrolled at the National Art Training School, the precursor of the Royal College of Art
, to study embroidery In 1885, aged 23, she became the director of the embroidery department at her father's enterprise Morris & Co.
.
In 1886, May fell in love with Henry Halliday Sparling (1860–1924), the secretary of the Socialist League
. Despite her mother's concerns about her future son-in-law, they married 14 June 1890 at Fulham
Register Office. The marriage broke down in 1894 over her affair with a former lover, the playwright George Bernard Shaw
. The Sparlings were divorced in 1898 and May resumed her maiden name.
She edited her father's Collected Works in 24 volumes for Longmans, Green and Company, published from 1910 to 1915, and also commissioned two houses, as had her mother Jane, to be built in the style that he loved after his death, and which are still standing in the village of Kelmscott
in the Cotswolds
in England.
May Morris died at Kelmscott Manor
17 October 1938.
May Morris was an influential embroideress and designer, although her contributions are often overshadowed by those of her father, a towering figure in the Arts and Crafts movement
. Morris himself is credited with the resurrection of free-form embroidery in the style which would be termed art needlework
. Art needlework emphasized freehand stitching and delicate shading in silk
thread, and was thought to encourage self-expression in the needleworker; this contrasted sharply with the brightly coloured Berlin wool work
needlepoint and its "paint by number
s" aesthetic which had gripped much of home embroidery in the mid-19th century.
May Morris was active in the Royal School of Art Needlework (now Royal School of Needlework
), founded as a charity in 1872 under the patronage of Princess Helena
to maintain and develop the art of needlework through structured apprenticeships.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
, embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
er, socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, and editor. She was the younger daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
artist and designer William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
and his wife and artists' model
Model (art)
Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
Jane Morris.
Biography
Red House (London)
Red House in Bexleyheath in southeast London, England, is a major building of the history of the Arts and Crafts style and of 19th century British architecture. It was designed during 1859 by its owner, William Morris, and the architect Philip Webb, with wall paintings and stained glass by Edward...
, Bexleyheath
Bexleyheath
Bexleyheath is a main suburban district of Southeast London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley with a small percentage of the district itself being in the London Borough of Greenwich. Bexleyheath is located on the border of Inner London and Outer London. It is east south-east of Charing Cross...
, and was named Mary as she was born on the Feast of the Annunciation.
May learned to embroider from her mother and her aunt Bessie Burden, who had been taught by William Morris. In 1881, she enrolled at the National Art Training School, the precursor of the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, to study embroidery In 1885, aged 23, she became the director of the embroidery department at her father's enterprise Morris & Co.
Morris & Co.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and its successor Morris & Co. were furnishings and decorative arts manufacturers and retailers founded by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris...
.
In 1886, May fell in love with Henry Halliday Sparling (1860–1924), the secretary of the Socialist League
Socialist League (UK, 1885)
The Socialist League was an early revolutionary socialist organisation in the United Kingdom. The organisation began as a dissident offshoot of the Social Democratic Federation of Henry Hyndman at the end of 1884. Never an ideologically harmonious group, by the 1890s the group had turned from...
. Despite her mother's concerns about her future son-in-law, they married 14 June 1890 at Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
Register Office. The marriage broke down in 1894 over her affair with a former lover, the playwright George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. The Sparlings were divorced in 1898 and May resumed her maiden name.
She edited her father's Collected Works in 24 volumes for Longmans, Green and Company, published from 1910 to 1915, and also commissioned two houses, as had her mother Jane, to be built in the style that he loved after his death, and which are still standing in the village of Kelmscott
Kelmscott
Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire.-Parish church:...
in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in England.
May Morris died at Kelmscott Manor
Kelmscott Manor
Kelmscott Manor is a handsome limestone manor house in the Cotswold village of Kelmscott, Oxfordshire, England. It is situated close to the River Thames, and it is frequently flooded. It dates from around 1570, with a late 17th-century wing...
17 October 1938.
Embroidery
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
. Morris himself is credited with the resurrection of free-form embroidery in the style which would be termed art needlework
Art needlework
Art needlework was a type of surface embroidery popular in the later nineteenth century under the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts Movement....
. Art needlework emphasized freehand stitching and delicate shading in silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
thread, and was thought to encourage self-expression in the needleworker; this contrasted sharply with the brightly coloured Berlin wool work
Berlin wool work
Berlin wool work is a style of needlepoint. Typically it is executed with wool yarn on canvas. It is usually worked in a single stitch, such as cross stitch or tent stitch although Beeton's book of Needlework describes 15 different stitches for use in Berlin work...
needlepoint and its "paint by number
Paint by number
Paint by number describes kits having a board on which light blue or grey lines indicate areas to paint, each area having a number and a corresponding numbered paint to use. The kits were invented, developed and marketed in 1950 by Max S...
s" aesthetic which had gripped much of home embroidery in the mid-19th century.
May Morris was active in the Royal School of Art Needlework (now Royal School of Needlework
Royal School of Needlework
The Royal School of Needlework is a hand embroidery school in the United Kingdom, founded in 1872.It has an archive of over 30,000 images covering every period of British history...
), founded as a charity in 1872 under the patronage of Princess Helena
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
Princess Helena was a member of the British Royal Family, the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert....
to maintain and develop the art of needlework through structured apprenticeships.
Publications
- Decorative Needlework, 1893
- The Collected Works of William Morris, 1910–1915
External links
- Decorative Needlework by May Morris, 1893