WOMEN PIONEERS OF THE ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT

In the 20th century it was difficult to research artists who were not well recognised in the major publications of their own day or were often cited under their husbands’ names. Fortunately, new digital sources are now available to fill in biographical details, and more recently greater attention has been given both to the work of individuals, such as the Macdonald sisters, May Morris and Phoebe Traquair, and to groups, including the Women’s Guild of Arts and the Home Arts & Industries Association. Improvements in printing have also enabled the publication of beautifully illustrated volumes like this, in full colour.

Karen Livingstone acknowledges the impossibility of covering the subject comprehensively; she and her co-authors focus on 34 craftworkers in 29 chapters in a largely alphabetical arrangement. All are British or Irish and were chosen because they produced outstanding work and represent a cross-section of the skills and media employed. The introduction usefully features works by artists who do not have a chapter of their own, including woodcarvers.

Whereas the wider Arts & Crafts Movement was dominated by architect-designers, only two female architects are featured here because the Royal Institute of British Architects banned women members until Ethel Charles in 1898, followed by her sister Bessie. Many of the artists began as painters and illustrators and became interested in related crafts such as china painting, mural decoration and stained glass. The traditionally gendered practice of embroidery, dress and textile production remained important, but the range of skills gradually expanded to include book binding, enamelling and jewellery, gardening, metalwork, printing and sculpture.

The alphabetical arrangement does not show how the movement unfolded over time, but any choice of layout would have its drawbacks. These short biographies of a substantial number of fine Arts & Crafts designer-makers will be useful to students and future researchers, as well as to collectors and curators.

WOMEN PIONEERS OF THE ARTS & CRAFTS MOVEMENT

Karen Livingstone (ed), Thames & Hudson, 2024, hb £35

Condensed from a review by Annette Carruthers in DAS Newsletter No. 133