Morris Society visit to the Greene and Green exhibition, 23 May in Washington, DC

On Saturday, 23 May, the William Morris Society is organizing a visit to the exhibition, The Art and Craft of Greene and Greene, at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC. We'll gather for lunch afterwards at a nearby restaurant. Open to all--you do not have to be a member of the society to come.
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About the exhibition: the architecture and decorative arts designed by Charles Greene (1868-1957) and his brother Henry Greene (1870-1954) a century ago in California are recognized as among the finest of the American arts and crafts movement. The Greenes carefully considered every detail of the buildings and objects they designed, incorporating European, Asian and Native American influences. Like Frank Lloyd Wright, they believed architecture to be a design language for life, imbuing their projects with a sensitivity for geography, climate, landscape and lifestyle. The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene, the most comprehensive exhibition of the brothers' work to date, examines their legacy with 127 objects, including furniture, stained glass and metalwork, as well as rare architectural drawings and photographs. The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Gamble House, constructed between 1907 and 1909 in Pasadena, CA, which is one of the Greenes' best-known commissions.

Saturday, 23 May 2009
11 a. m.
Renwick Gallery
1661 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (at 17th Street)
Washington, DC

Last Chance at the De Morgan Foundation

The De Morgan Foundation has long been one of the little-known treasures among London's art museums. Located in Wandsworth, south of the river, its collection focuses on the work of William De Morgan, a ceramicist associated with William Morris who late in life had an unexpected second career as a novelist, and his wife, Evelyn, née Pickering, a talented painter. There is now a last chance to see the foundation's stunning installation of art and pottery before it all leaves its present home on 25 July 2009. Combined with a memorial exhibition of paintings by the late Jon Catleugh, on display from 17 June, the exhibition will culminate in an auction sale on Friday, 24 July 2009  at 6.30 for 7.30 p. m. For more information: info@demorgan.co.uk.

De Morgan Centre

38 West Hill

London SW18 1RZ

020 88 71 11 44

The Sleeping Beauty: Victorian Paintings—in Madrud

Until 24 April the Prado in Madrid is featuring The Sleeping Beuaty: Victorian Paintings from the Museo de Arte de Ponce. The highlights are, of course, Leighton's Flaming June and Burne-Jones's Arthur in Avalon (displayed with two equally stunning works from the Briar Rose series). In addition, there are also paintings and drawings by Millais, Rossetti, Holman Hunt, and the rarely-seen Thomas Seddon, to name just a few. It is interesting to note that this year, Victorian art is found outside of its normal home-ground, Britain. Consider that Holman Hunt is in Minneapolis, the Royal Holloway paintings are traveling to Delaware and Connecticut, Waterhouse has been to Montreal, and now two major shows are on in Spain and Sweden. A cynic might say that the British are becoming tired of the period and the artists, that they've moved on, that the Victorians have been so overexposed as to become almost a joke. And perhaps now only "foreign" museums have the money and inclination to put on large loan exhibitions. I certainly have noticed on our annual June trips to London—prime museum season—that nineteenth century art has been harder to find in recent years. Last year there was Tate Britain's exploration of the Middle East, but that was about it.

Blood, Absinthe, and Aphorisms: New Currents in Aestheticism and Decadence

The unusual and catchy title above is that of a conference to be held 30 April–1 May in New York. Organized b Richard Kaye and Talia Schaffer and held at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, "Blood, Absinthe, and Aphorisms" brings together scholars in a variety of disciplines to examine aestheticism and decadence in late Victorian literature, art, theater, politics, and popular culture. Reginia Gagnier is the keynote speaker and the opening roundtable, "What's New in Decadence and Aestheticism,"represents a "who's who" of experts in the field—Dennis Dennisoff, Joseph Bristow, Linda K. Hughes, Richard Dellamora, and Margaret D. Stetz. Longer presentations concern C. R. Ashbee and British utopias, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, and romanticism; Aubrey Beardsley and the art of the poster; Edward Carpenter and domestic interiors, and Black decadence in the work of M. P. Shiel. (Although not specifically named as the subject for any of the papers, one senses that William Morris or Edward Burne-Jones might be mentioned form time to time.)

Thursday, 30 April 2009
5.30 to 8 p. m.
Friday, 1 May 2009
8.45 a. m. to 6 p. m.
Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY

Open to the public without cost or registration.

Illustration: William Nicholson, James McNeill Whistler, woodcut touched with watercolor, 1897 (Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, on loan to the University of Delaware Library)

Pre-Raphaelites in Stockholm: Report by Jan Marsh

What is billed as the first major show of Pre-Raphaelite art ever held in Scandanavia is on until 24 May. Titled (obviously) The Pre-Raphaelites at the National Musuem, Stockhilm, consists largely of loans from UK museums and galleries, but there are several unusual twists to the exhibition. For one thing, the arrangement is not strictly chronological; for another, there is a representation of Northern artists influenced by the PRB; and finally, among the highlights are several works from the National Museum's own collection, some of them--such as this Rossetti sketch of Elizabeth Siddal sketching--purchased quite recently.

Jan Marsh, the noted biographer, editor, and Pre-Raphaelite scholar, has kindly sent us a report on this large and important exhibition, click here for a link.

Anna Sui's "favorite artists"—Beardsley, Burne-Jones, and Waterhouse

We were watching CBS Sunday Morning--arguably the only program on US television which pays regular attention to design, the book arts, and visual culture in general--and were transfixed when the fashion designer, Anna Sui, said that inspiration for a recent collection came from "late nineteenth century artists." A visit to the biography posted on her website reveals that under "Favorite Artists" she lists the following (and only the following):

George LePape
Christian Berard
Aubrey Beardsley
John William Waterhouse
Edward Burne-Jones

Just how much influence Beardsley and Burne-Jones have on Sui's unconventional and interesting fashion lines you can judge for yourself. But if Ms. Sui happens to be reading these words, we want to say--join the William Morris Society!

"The Art of the Book": Design and Craft in 19th-century Britain and 21st-century Canada

This year's William Morris Society of Canada symposium, "The Art of the Book: Design and Craft in 19th-century Britain and 21st-century Canada, " will be held on Saturday, 21 March, at University College, University of Toronto. In keeping with Morris’s own belief that books are the product of diverse talents working in cooperation, our 2009 symposium brings together printers, publishers, artists, and scholars to discuss the material form of the book as it is, has been, and might be. In the morning, William Whitla of York University will speak on the relationship between Morris’s calligraphy, book collecting, and printing practices, followed by William Rueter describing the work of his own Aliquando Press and its recent edition of the diaries of the artist and bookbinder T. J. Cobden-Sanderson. The afternoon will feature presentations on the past, present, and future of printing and book design. Speakers include Don Taylor, bookbinder and artist working in Toronto since 1980; and Reg Beatty, bookbinder, book artist, and teacher at York University and the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Immediately following the symposium, a party in University College’s Croft Chapter House will celebrate William Morris’s 175th birthday.

Saturday, 21 March 2009
9.30 a. m. to 4 p. m.
Room 179
University College
University of Toronto

Registration (includes lunch):
Paid in Advance, before March 14: $40 (members); $50 (non-members); $20 (students)
Paid at the Door: $50 (members): $60 (non-members); $30 (students)

Please note “pre-registration” is strongly recommended because “At he Door” registration may be very limited.