Arts and Crafts furniture

The Arts and Crafts Movement of the late Victorian period (spilling over into the early 20^th century) had its origins in the Gothic Revival and the writings of art critic John Ruskin, but was really sparked by the ideas and enterprise of the artist, designer and writer William Morris (1834-96). On moving into his newly built “Red House” in 1860 he was dismayed to find that the furnishings then on offer for purchase were not to his liking, so he set up a company, with some like-minded friends, to make good the shortfall, with the emphasis being on good design and honest craftsmanship.

Morris’s lead was soon followed by a number of other craftsmen, designers and architects, some of whom formed themselves into guilds and societies which aimed to further the cause of combining artistry and craftsmanship. The first such guild was the Century Guild, founded in 1882 by the architect A H Mackmurdo, and  this was followed in 1884 by the Art Workers Guild, which was the first to use the term “Arts and Crafts”. In 1888 C R Ashbee opened his Guild and School of Handicraft in London’s east end, with the declared aim of “making useful things, making them well and making them beautiful”.

Prominent figures in the movement included the brothers Sidney and Ernest Barnsley and Ernest Gimson, all of whom were architects who had been greatly influenced by William Morris. They started, as Kenton and Company, by designing furniture that was then built by professional cabinet makers. However, in 1893 the three founders moved to the Cotswolds where they not only designed furniture but also constructed some of it themselves. Sidney Barnsley, in particular, became a skilled craftsman, whereas Ernest Barnsley continued to work as an architect as well as designing furniture, and Ernest Gimson worked mainly at the drawing board and employed highly skilled cabinet makers to build his pieces.

They preferred to work in oak and produced large flat surfaces that were free of carving or other ornamentation. Their early pieces were simple in design, in order to be affordable by ordinary middle-class people, but, as their reputation grew, they produced pieces of greater sophistication. A notable feature of their work was the way in which they used the available materials to best effect and allowed the quality of the timber, and the workmanship, to speak for themselves. Gimson, in particular, paid minute attention to detail and would modify designs to suit the timber or construction. Blacksmiths were employed to make items such as hinges and handles that were designed to fit individual pieces. This practice was entirely in line with William Morris’s philosophy.

The Cotswolds grew as a centre of furniture production when, in 1902, C R Ashbee moved his School of Handicraft to Chipping Campden. He employed around 50 craftsmen whom he encouraged to work together so that their varying skills carried the message that form and function were integral to every piece. Ashbee’s designs were less sophisticated than those of Ernest Gimson, and some potential buyers, especially in continental Europe, thought them to be rather primitive in concept.

E W Godwin, another designer who started as an architect, incorporated the contemporary trend for favouring Japanese motifs and designed pieces that were much lighter and more graceful than those more typical Arts and Crafts pieces that retained the heaviness of their Gothic forbears.

W R Lethaby had been a member of Kenton and Company who set out on his own to design pieces that used a wide range of materials including polished mahogany, used as inlays, and unstained oak. He incorporated a greater degree of decoration than some of his colleagues, with his main inspiration being the designs of William Morris.

Many later designers, including Ambrose Heal and Gordon Russell, acknowledged their debt to the Arts and Crafts movement, the influence of which has lasted down to the present day. The idea that pieces of furniture could be well-made, functional, and also pleasing to the eye and the hand is one that clearly had much to recommend it. The fact that craftsmanship was at the heart of the movement, and the Arts and Crafts workshops laid considerable stress on quality of workmanship, has meant that many original pieces have survived to the present day, which in turn has meant that prices for collectors are not exorbitant.

There are fine collections of Arts and Crafts furniture at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow.

© John Welford