William Morris at the de Young Museum

From now until June 18th there is an exhibition of Arts and Crafts Movement furniture at the de Young.

The exhibit is divided geographically into Britain, Europe, US, Japan. To me, the British section was the most interesting because of William Morris and art critic John Ruskin (his sex life alone makes for interesting reading).

Morris and Ruskin kick started the Arts and Crafts movement which then spread to other industrialised countries (In the 1930's The Bauhaus school brings 'Form follows Function' design into the modern age. But this exhibit is not about the Bauhaus). It's all about the response to the shoddy design of products during the industrial revolution. Some of the early furniture might strike us as overly decorative, and we might confuse some of the later work with Art Deco design. But for the 19th century, this was cutting edge.



Click on the picture of the Red House for more about William Morris.