Important Themes of the Arts and Crafts Movement

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STYLE/PERIOD

The arts and crafts movement began in Britain and spread across Europe and the USA over the late nineteenth to the twentieth century (1860-1910). The movement included artists, architects, designers, writers, craftsmen/women, and philanthropists who shared a hope to restore dignity and affordability to traditional handicrafts. However, there was not just a focus on style or design in the movement – it also held an idealized ideology that reminisced on medieval architecture, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, rustic styles, and literature. In addition, the arts and crafts movement was a reaction against eclecticism, the clutter of ornamentation, and the often poorly made and mass-produced products of the Victorian Era. Thus, it sought to restore dignity to traditional handicrafts.

The Red House was one of the early works of the movement. Indeed, this house was considered a work of art. The textile designer, William Morris (1834-96), commissioned the house from Philip Webb (1831-1915). The house was built with local materials and traditional building methods, with Morris designing the garden himself. Notably, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82) described the house as “more a poem than house” (Amy Dempsey, (2002, p. 19)).

Architecture

Shortly after this period, in 1861, the manufacturing and decorating firm “Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.” was founded. Unquestionably, this firm was anti-industrial and focused on craftmanship from design to execution. During this venture, members of the firm experimented with different forms of media, for example, furniture to wallpaper and glass to tiles.

Undoubtedly, architecture was one of the leading areas of the movement. Indeed, Philip Webb was very influential in the architecture of this time. Notably, the arts and crafts movement encouraged respect for local materials and a belief that new buildings should integrate with the surrounding landscape. Thus, this resulted in a fresh new aesthetic. Subsequently, architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner called it “fresher and more aesthetically adventurous than anything done at the same time abroad” (Visual Arts Cork (Anonymous, no date)).

Furthermore, Dempsey (2002, p. 20) highlighted how the movement influenced the creation of the Garden City movement, led by Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928), which aimed to create “small, economically self-sufficient cities throughout the country, with the aim of halting urban sprawl and overcrowding”. Eventually, the movement spread to Europe, as seen in ‘The English House’ (1904-5) amongst others.

Nevertheless, the Royal Academy would not exhibit decorative arts at the time. Thus, this prompted the establishment of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society (1888). 1893 saw the launch of the magazine The Studio; this further aimed to spread the message and design of the movement.

COLOURS/THEMES

• Beautiful, decorative, and functional design.
• Earthly tones were often used.
• It had an “honest” style.
• It focused on art, design, and craftmanship rather than industrialization.
• It focused on the quality of materials concerning native materials and traditions (likes were natural materials/dislikes were modern or synthetic materials).
• It aimed for affordability in its design.
• There was a strong focus on the applied arts.
• It focused on handmade and traditional craftmanship.
• It embraced the concept of medieval guilds. Thus, it reflected on and romanticized the honour and dignity of past times, such as medieval, folk, or romantic art styles of decoration.
• There was a rejection of mass production.
• It united in philosophy rather than strictly aesthetic style.

Unfortunately, though the movement aimed to produce beautiful hand-crafted work at affordable prices, the expense of creating these hand-crafted pieces led to quite expensive artwork. Therefore, much of the work resulted in being mainly for the affluent.

MAIN PRACTITIONERS

William Morris

William Morris was a leading designer, painter, poet, and social reformer of this period and one of the most well-known from the movement. Indeed, a good indicator of Morris’s aim for the arts and crafts movement is evident in his following statement (which the curator Kremer (no date) included on the well-known Artist Studio Museum blog): 

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”  

Morris is known for his inspiration from nature, with flowers and birds often featured in his work. Undoubtedly, his work often displayed qualities of simplicity and dignity. In particular, Morris focused on the design of textiles, wallpapers, books, and typography.

Other Leading Practitioners

As mentioned, Philip Webb was also a leading architect in the early establishment of the movement. Also, the architect Augustus Pugin, writer John Ruskin and architect, designer, and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh were all inspirational to the arts and crafts movement. Mackintosh produced some widely known furniture designs that incorporated elements of the arts and crafts movement (as well as art nouveau).

Subsequently, arts and crafts workshops started to be established in the USA (in the late nineteenth century). Notably, Gustav Stickle (1857-1942) was well-known for the USA arts and crafts movement. Due to Stickle’s creations being simple and unadorned designs, his products became more affordable than Morris’s. Stickle was not anti-mass production (unlike most of the founders of the arts and crafts movement).

Indeed, the movement swept along the USA (with Charles and Henry Greene, William Eyre, and Elbert Hubbard being some of those initiating the arts and crafts movement there), culminating in a West Coast Variant. However, one of the main leaders of the American form of the arts and crafts movement is Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) (see below for his Prairie House close to Chicago).

FORCES THAT SHAPED THE MOVEMENT

The arts and crafts movement pursued restoring the importance and quality of design and craft. Moreover, this was in response to increasing industrialization (where the group believed there was a decline in standards associated with machinery and factory production). Additionally, some themes of the movement drew from Arthurian legend and the poetry of fourteenth-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

Morris was a Socialist, as were many of the founders, and the movement was considered a social reform as well as a design reform. Morris was influenced strongly by John Ruskin (1819-1900), who was also against greed and the self-interest of contemporary capitalist society. Subsequently, Morris rejected the cold, impersonal aesthetics seen in the Industrial Revolution.

Irish Arts and Crafts Movement

The Irish arts and crafts movement occurred at a time of political unrest. However, this assisted the arts and crafts movement due to Nationalists seeking influence from their Celtic past. Thus, this resulted in the Celtic Revival. Notably, the Irish stained glass artist and book illustrator Harry Clarke (1889-1931) and Yeats’ Sisters (Lily and Lolly Yeats) were well known for their part in the movement in Ireland. Also, Jack B. Yeats was another well-known artist of this time – his work featured in his sister’s Cuala Press company.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS

Below are some additional observations that I noted while studying the Arts and Crafts movement:

• It often consisted of flat, formal pattern designs (for example, wallpaper) with rich colour and complexity. I felt the rich tones in the wallpaper create a sense of warmth.
• Morris often used a lot of swirls of flowers and leaves in perfect symmetry. As with any great artist or designer, Morris achieved a creative style that is instantly recognizable.
• Floral and organic forms were often present (similar to Art Nouveau).
• Natural motifs were often present.
• Some arts and crafts work, such as ‘The Red House’, influenced movements such as Art Nouveau and Art Deco.
• For the most part, patterns and designs of this period featured little negative space (with the majority of space taken up by repetitive pattern designs).
• I see a contrast in the typeface styles of the movement. This contrast varies from the decorative style found in Morris’s Kelmscott Press (1891-1896)/Celtic Design versus the other influential typefaces of that period, such as Mackintosh Typeface (produced by Mackintosh) and Eric Gills (1882-1940). Gills and Mackitosh’s typefaces were very commercial and successful. Their typefaces were more clean-cut (as opposed to the decorative style seen in Celtic design).

SIMILARITIES TO CONTEMPORARY DESIGN/DESIGNERS?

I believe there is a revival in the arts and crafts movement today due to the ongoing move away from fast fashion and towards sustainability and individuality. However, this is due to a heightened consciousness concerning climate change and the wastage in mass production. Etsy is one example that allows for individualistic artisanship (as opposed to mass production).

Furthermore, Avoca Handweavers often use packaging designed with elements of the arts and crafts movement. This packaging is often more scaled back and modern than seen during the arts and crafts movement. Also, Avoca packaging tends to have fewer decorative features and more negative space. For example, see the below packaging, where a floral flowy repetitive pattern is present in conjunction with earthly tones (similar to how the arts and crafts movement used these features).

REVIEW SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES TO A CONTEMPORARY WORK

I chose Pukka tea as a primary current-day source that I believe is influenced by the arts and crafts movement.

What is this Product and its Use?

This product is part of the Pukka range of teas. Pukka Herbs website (no date) states that its “purpose is to nurture healthier, happier lives through powerful organic plants”. 

It uses sustainable packaging and describes the tea as organic, naturally caffeine-free, ethically sourced, and organically grown ingredients. Also, it states to “run wild”, and you will be in a “golden blaze of organic glory”. Indeed, all of these features are similar to the earthly themes of the arts and crafts movement.

What influence/s does it take from Arts & Crafts Movement?

Typography 

The typography style of the Pukka tea is somewhat a basic font creating a sense of “honesty” (honesty being a theme of the arts and crafts movement). Pukka wishes to convey this trustworthy style to achieve sales. It does so by using (for the most part) a sans-serif, clean style with minimalistic design elements. The ‘K’ within ‘Pukka’ adds a decorative feature (similar to Celtic design) that also incorporates a plant-like design. This feature adds to the natural and healthy image so that the brand may portray trust. It also stresses the inherent beauty of the product and the importance of nature as inspiration.

This typeface is not totally in line with many other typefaces of the movement (such as Kelmscott, Ganelon and Goddard) that often had a Victorian and medieval influence, a fairy style, and decorative lettering. However, the decorative style within the K is a throwback to this more illustrative decorative lettering of the arts and crafts movement.

The font style on the packaging is more minimalistic. Its typography is closer to the style of Gill Sands and Chelsea Studio (popular styles of the arts and crafts movement). Indeed, it is very similar to Gill Sans. Gill Sans is a humanist sans-serif typeface – well known for its new “geometric” style at the time. We see this similarity in the near-perfect circles within Pukka. The typeface is a simple rounded design to maintain simplicity, utility, and beauty.

Colour

The Pukka tea packaging uses colours in line with the arts and crafts movement. We can see the typical green-yellow shades, dark reds, and bright whites (introduced in the 1890s). See below for a sample of a typical arts and crafts colour palette.

Pattern

On the Pukka tea packaging, we see the decorative style of floral and repetitive patterns well known during the arts and crafts movement. Also, we often see similar elements in Celtic design patterns as the Pukka tea packaging pattern.

Image Style 

The simple floral and organic forms on the Pukka packaging create a medieval and romantic inspiration for the design. These floral designs were popular during the arts and crafts movement.

Material

The arts and crafts movement focused on quality and natural materials. Pukka uses sustainable packaging that is very much in line with the anti-industrial and organic/natural beliefs of the arts and crafts movement.

Other

It’s appropriate that Pukka chose this type of movement for its packaging since it is an organic, herbal, natural brand that is very in line with the beliefs of the arts and crafts movement.

A Historical Comparison in Contrast to Pukka Packaging

We see similar styles (as the Pukka packaging) in much of William Morris’s floral prints (from the Arts & Crafts Movement era), where he used repetitive floral patterns using a similar earthly colour palette.

How Does the Pukka Packaging Differ?

As previously mentioned, the decorative style typography used in the arts and crafts movement is not at the forefront of the Pukka packaging design (see below Kelmscott decorate type). Indeed, the packaging is not overly decorative like in Celtic ornate design or much of William Morris’s typography work. However, this is likely because it needs to be quickly readable to the customer and portray a sense of simple honesty in its branding. Also, the Pukka packaging has a lot more negative space.

PICTOGRAPHY

Fig 1: Photographer Unknown – Wikipedia, (no date) View of Red House from the garden, Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_House,_Bexleyheath (Accessed: 08 April 2023)

Fig 2: Photographer Unknown – MET Museum, (no date), Bird. Available at https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/221485#:~:text=Bird%20designed%201878,until%20his%20death%20in%201896 (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

Fig 3: Photographer Unknown – Chicago Architecture Center, (no date), Prairie Style Architecture. Available at https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/architecture-dictionary/entry/prairie-style/ (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

Fig 4: Photographer Unknown – Cuala Press, (no date), Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957). Available at https://www.adams.ie/69546/Jack-B-Yeats-1871-1957-/-Cuala-Press-A-collection-of-hand-coloured-Cuala-Press-prints-by-Jack-B-Yeats-and-others-including-The-Post-Car-The-First-Time-Round-2-A-Cradle-Song-A-Shop-in-Sailor-Town?high_estimate=120000&ipp=All&keyword=&low_estimate=80&view=lot_detail (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

Fig 5: Photographer Unknown – Avoca, (no date), Lemon Verbena Scented Candle. Available at https://www.avoca.com/en/homeware/candles-and-diffusers/lemon-verbena-scented-candle (Accessed: 28 April 2021)

Fig 6: Photographer Unknown – Pukka Herbs, (no date), Pukka Turmeric Active Organic. Available at https://www.pukkaherbs.com/uk/en/products/turmeric-active-tea (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

Fig 7: No Photographer- Bricks & Brass, (no date), Arts and Crafts Colour. Available at http://www.bricksandbrass.co.uk/design_by_element/colour/arts_and_crafts_colour.php (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

Fig 8: Photographer Unknown – Higgs & Higgs, (no date), William Morris V & A Collection – Pimpernel – Green. Available at https://www.higgsandhiggs.com/william-morris-v-a-collection-pimpernel-green.html (Accessed: 21 May2021)

Fig 9: Photographer Unknown – Morris and the Kelmscott Press, (no date), Kelmscott William Morris. Available at https://victorianweb.org/authors/morris/kelmscott.html (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anonymous, “Arts and Crafts Movement” [on-line], no date, at http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/arts-and-crafts.htm (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

Carien, Kremer, (no date) “No title”, Artist’s Studio Museum Network, [blog] Available at https://www.artiststudiomuseum.org/blog/have-nothing-your-houses-you-do-not-know-be-beautiful-or-believe-be-useful/ (Accessed: 21 May 2021)

Dempsey, Amy, (2002), Styles, Schools and Movements, Thames & Hudson Ltd. London.

Gorman, Isobel, (2021), week 1 Graphic Design Certificate slides, Dublin Institute of Design

Pole, Sebastian,/Westwell, Tim, [on-line], no date, at https://www.pukkaherbs.com/uk/en/ (Accessed: 21 May 2021)