ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT: HISTORY

The Arts and Crafts movement emerged during the late Victorian period in England, the most industrialized country in the world at that time. The British movement derived from two important sources: first, the designer A. W. N. Pugin, and second, theorist and art critic John Ruskin. The movement’s figurehead was William Morris, who believed that industrialization alienated labor and created distance between the designer and manufacturer. It was a movement that focused on architecture and the decorative arts that represented the beginning of a new appreciation of the decorative arts throughout Europe.  It started in England and spread to the United States from 1870 to 1920. Arts and crafts designers wanted to improve standards of decorative design because they believed that machines would destroy the beauty of it, they wanted to create an environment where beauty, creativity and craftsman governed. The name of the movement comes from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society from 1888, characterized by the simplicity of design, handcrafted objects and local materials.

John Ruskin believed that quality art and design were lacking. He criticized the industrial construction of furniture and decorative objects because they lacked spirit and artistry. The movement also had its origins in the love of Gothic and medieval culture, poets and painters looked back at these characteristics of the Romanticism for inspiration. Architect A. W. N. Pugin brought the Gothic revival to a new prominence in English architecture with his design for the Houses of Parliament.

The admiration of handcrafted decorative work of art was the main purpose of the movement. The focus was on simplicity of design as opposed to the excessive decoration of industrial objects. The arts and crafts movement was in many ways and upper-class trend, as few could afford one of a kind objects. William Morris’ company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. established in 1861, was one of the first companies to specialize in handcrafted decorative objects such as furniture, stained glass and wallpaper. The companies’ workers were mostly middle class women, which were seeking for work in the home.

The arts and crafts movement started as a social movement dedicates to re-establish the importance of craftsmanship in an era of mechanization and mass production. William Morris’s creation was an attempt to revive crafts as he felt people were starting to become out of touch with them and their beauty. Even though the product he made came with a high cost, they were all a big success. The movement main goals were to use the rational structure of an object and the meaning of it in the choosing of materials and expressing the fabrication process. It definitely changed the aspect of household design, from architecture to pottery. The products embraced simplicity of line, good durable materials and the most important craftsmanship. Most of the patterns used in the products were inspired and represented British flora and fauna.

The movement owes its success to two other 19^th century trends: Aestheticism and Art Nouveau. Aestheticism encouraged the belief that one should surround oneself with beautiful art in order to become more refined. Art Nouveau was a French version of the Arts and Crafts movement; it encouraged the purpose of the decorative motives for everyday household objects. The only difference between Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement was that Art Nouveau products were mass produced while Arts and Crafts movement was against machinery work.

The main objectives of the arts and crafts movement were: rejection between arts and crafts, rejection of the machines used to create products leaving behind the work of craftsmen. Also they wanted to revive the gothic style in the arts and the architecture. And most importantly work done good, and finish it good being satisfactory to the craftsman and the customer. The Arts and Crafts movement had a great influence on interior design, the home furnishing and the production and conception of decorative objects as art even in an industrial age.