October 5, 1916 
LAND & WATER 
17 
Arts and Crafts Society : A Reminiscence 
By Julia Gartwright 
» 
THE Exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Society, 
which opens on Saturday at Burlington 
House, is a memorable event in the annals of 
this association, and stirs up many half-forgotten 
recollections. It is thirty years since the Society came 
into being, and most of the pioneers who led the van of 
the battle in those struggling days have already passed 
out of sight. 
The movement owed its origin to a little group of 
artists who, in the early eighties, gathered round William 
Morris, " the Master- Artisan," and felt the spell of his 
powerful personality. Fired by his enthusiasm and 
inspired by the same generous dream, they resolved 
" to build Jerusalem, in England's green and pleasant 
land." In other words, they set to work to bring about 
a revival of Decorative Art, and at the same time to 
produce happier conditions for the craftsman. The 
foundation of the Art-Workers Guild, in 1884, was the 
lirst outcome of the new movement. This was followed 
two years later by the formation of the Arts and Crafts 
Exhibition Society. The primary aim of the new society 
was to revive interest in decorative arts by means of 
exhibitions in which each object bore the name of the 
designer and craftsman who actually executed the work, 
instead of being merely labelled with the name of the 
firm that employed them. The idea of such an exhibition 
had been first mooted by Ruskin in a letter to Morris 
in 1878, but it was ten years before his suggestion took 
actual shape. 
The first exhibition of the Arts and Crafts was held in 
the New Gallery, in the autumn of 1888. Walter Crane 
was elected President of the, new society while Mr. W. A. 
S. Benson, who had himself started business as a cabinet 
maker and metal worker, and Mr. Cobden Sanderson, 
the accomplished printer and bookbinder, were two of 
the most active members of the committee, which also 
included Burne-Jones, the lifelong friend and colleague of 
Morris ; J. D. Sedding and Somers Clarke, the archi- 
tects ; Mr. William de Morgan, who has since attained 
distinction in other fields of art ; Mr. Emery Walker, Mr. 
Heywood Summer, and Mr. W. R. Lethaby. Their 
efforts were crowned with success, and when the New 
Gallery opened its doors, a thrill of pleasure and surprise 
ran through the spectators. Many of us remember the 
beautiful effect of the Central Court — the pyramid of 
de Morgan tiles glowing with the ruby lustre of old 
Gubbio ware, with Persian and Rhodian blues, Mr. 
Benson's luminous copper fountain, Mr. Summer's 
sgraffito designs and gesso roundels, the glorious tapes- 
tries from Merton Abbey, and all the lovely colour and 
pattern in silk embroideries and exquisitely tooled 
morocco, that met the eye. Even wall-papers 
might become things of beauty, we felt, when we saw 
the joy of the springtime reflected in Walter Crane's 
design, " Under the Greenwood Tree," and the "Golden 
Age " return in his embossed leather of silver and 
gold. There were greater treasures too — cartoons by 
Burne-Jones for those stained glass windows which 
are the glory of St. Philip's, Birmingham — the angels 
trooping with wondering eyes round the cave of Bethle- 
hem, the Hill of Calvary with the Roman soldiers lifting 
up rows of serried pikes and crimson banners against 
the sombre sky, and that most pathetic of all his designs, 
the Christ hanging on the Tree of Life between Adam 
the labourer in the field and Eve the mother of all living, 
with Abel in her arms and the Madonna lily beside her 
telling of the world's great hope. These cartoons, certainly 
among the finest which Burne-Jones designed, are now 
the property of the nation and adorn the walls of the 
Victoria and Albert Museum. 
The promoters of the exhibition had, naturally, many 
difficulties to contend with. The critics were scornful, 
Academicians shrugged their shoulders and Philistines 
stood rigidly aloof, while there was considerable opposition 
among the leading firms of manufacturers who regarded 
the ' appearance of designers, and workmen's names as 
injurious to their interests. But, in spite of these 
hindrances, the new venture met with a large measure 
of public sympathy, and the second exhibition, in 1889, 
proved still more popular. Morris was delighted with 
the success of the experiment, and wrote gleefully to 
tell his wife that during the first three days, the visitors 
numbered twice as many as in the previous year. A 
charming paper by him on the Art bf Dyeing, appeared 
in the Catalogue, and it was in the Exhibition Galleries 
that he delivered his famous lecture on Gothic Archi- 
tecture, which Mr. Mackail justly described as " ex- 
pressing, in brief compass and simple words, the whole 
knowledge an^ enthusiasm of ahfetime." In 1893 Morris 
was elected President of the Society and held the office 
until his death three years later. 
The death of Burne-Jones in the same year, was an- 
other blow to the Society, but in spite of these losses, it 
continued to grow and prosper, and the ninth exhibition, 
held in January 1910, was remarkable for the variety 
and high standard of the exhibits. This exhibition was 
the last to be held in the New Gallery, which, to the grief 
of all lovers of art, was sold for a restaurant directly after- 
wards. Now the Royal Academy comes forward to re- 
pair the wrong, and opens the doors of Burlington House 
to the society, whose founders were its most bitter critics. 
Its Wonderful Influence. 
Looking back on the period which has elapsed since 
the formation of the society, we realise how great has 
been the influence of the whole ' movement. Not only 
has the amount of art production increased enormously, 
but forgotten crafts such as fine printing and writing, 
enamelling and jewellery, have been revived and new 
ones called into existence, while the abundance of mural 
designs in fresco and tempera, show that the archi- 
tectual side of art has not been neglected. It is hardly 
too much to say that a complete revolution in the build- 
ing and decoration of our houses has been effected, and 
the old dulness and ugliness are, we may hope, gone for 
ever. At the same time, the character and aims of our 
art schools have changed greatly for the better, while 
the work of separate groups of the Arts and Crafts, 
— notably that of the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft, 
Mr. Ashbee's Guild, and the Keswick School of Art- 
have attained a high pitch of excellence. The flourishing 
condition of the Home Arts and Industries Association 
shows how deeply the movement has penetrated into 
the heart of England. Once more the spinning wheels 
are set going in Langdale, a thriving pottery has sprung 
up in the shadow of Watts' Surrey home ; and in the 
most remote country districts classes of handiwork 
brighten the monotony of village life and reveal the 
existence of unsuspected talent. 
Some years ago the Germans, quick to see the commercial 
advantages of the institution, started a Werkbimd on 
the same lines. Austria and Italy followed suit, and 
recently a society known as " L'Union Centrale des 
Arts decoratifs " has been founded in Paris. When, 
in 1902, the first International Exhibition of Decorative 
Arts was held at Turin, the Arts and Crafts Society 
received a diploma of honour from the jury as an act of 
homage and thankfulness to England for the lead taken 
by her great masters Morris, Burne-Jones and Walter 
Crane, and as a tribute to the society which " keeps up 
their grand traditions and at the same time develops 
its work on the basis of true and serious art." The 
words are as true to-day as they were then. If many are 
gone whose " fair names and famous," shed lustre on the 
society's roll, many too are left. Edward Prior, W. A. S. 
Benson, W. R. Lethaby, Christopher Whall, and others 
like them are with us still, while in the President of the 
Society we welcome the colleague and follower of one 
of the ablest members, J. D. Sedding. 
The future is full of hope. When the longed-for 
peace comes and the new day dawns on a better world, 
who can doubt that we shall see the fulfilment of Morris's 
dream^— " The genuine new birth of art which will be 
the spontaneous expression of the pleasure of life innate 
in the I whole people?" 
