Swan, Rush and Iris thumbnail 1
Swan, Rush and Iris thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D , Case DR, Shelf 156

Swan, Rush and Iris

Wallpaper Design
1875 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This is one of Walter Crane's earliest designs for wallpaper, created in 1875. The black outlines and solid blocks of colour of this design suggest a study of Greek vase painting. A slightly amended version of this design was produced as a wallpaper two years later by Jeffrey & Co.

People
Walter Crane (1845-1915) was the first President of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He excelled in flat pattern design and worked for many different manufacturers. He began designing wallpapers in 1874, after his name was suggested to Metford Warner, the director of Jeffrey & Co., by the designer, Bruce Talbert. He subsequently became one of Jeffrey & Co.'s most important designers.

Design & Designing
Walter Crane developed his figurative style through illustrating books, for which he was most famous. In his illustrated children's books of the 1870s, the clever drawings and brilliant colour sense made his work popular with children and adults alike, and they are still in print 130 years later. Typically, Crane's wallpaper designs were figurative, and often narrative, drawing on Greek myth, fairy tales and nursery rhymes. This design has a formality based on heraldic design combined with a naturalistic and pictorial theme. It is typical of Crane's style in the 1870s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSwan, Rush and Iris (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Body colour on paper
Brief description
Design for 'Swan, Rush and Iris' wallpaper dado (E.5124, 5125-1919), silhouetted swans against a stylised background of rush and iris, suggesting the influence of Greek vase paintings; Designed by Walter Crane; Body colour on paper; Signed with the artist's emblem; England; 1875.
Physical description
Design for 'Swan, Rush and Iris' wallpaper dado (E.5124, 5125-1919), silhouetted swans against a stylised background of rush and iris, suggesting the influence of Greek vase paintings; Body colour on paper; Signed with the artist's emblem.
Dimensions
  • Height: 53.1cm
  • Width: 53cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 20/01/1999 by SF Object mounted on paper backing 64 x 61.6
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Signed with the artist's emblem
Gallery label
British Galleries: Walter Crane was the first president of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He developed his figurative style through illustrating books. He was a prolific commercial designer and worked for many different manufacturers.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Margaret Warner
Object history
Exhibited Art Nouveau in Britain, Arts Council, 1965, no 27.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
This is one of Walter Crane's earliest designs for wallpaper, created in 1875. The black outlines and solid blocks of colour of this design suggest a study of Greek vase painting. A slightly amended version of this design was produced as a wallpaper two years later by Jeffrey & Co.

People
Walter Crane (1845-1915) was the first President of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. He excelled in flat pattern design and worked for many different manufacturers. He began designing wallpapers in 1874, after his name was suggested to Metford Warner, the director of Jeffrey & Co., by the designer, Bruce Talbert. He subsequently became one of Jeffrey & Co.'s most important designers.

Design & Designing
Walter Crane developed his figurative style through illustrating books, for which he was most famous. In his illustrated children's books of the 1870s, the clever drawings and brilliant colour sense made his work popular with children and adults alike, and they are still in print 130 years later. Typically, Crane's wallpaper designs were figurative, and often narrative, drawing on Greek myth, fairy tales and nursery rhymes. This design has a formality based on heraldic design combined with a naturalistic and pictorial theme. It is typical of Crane's style in the 1870s.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Greenhalgh, Paul (Ed.), Art Nouveau: 1890-1914 . London: V&A Publications, 2000
  • Oman, Charles C., and Hamilton, Jean. Wallpapers: a history and illustrated catalogue of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Sotheby Publications, in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1945, London: HMSO, 1956.
Collection
Accession number
E.17-1945

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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