Wallpaper Design
1891 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Designers like William Morris, Walter Crane and the young Charles Voysey were working at the forefront of design in the late 1880s and 1890s. They considered flat stylised patterns, of the kind seen in this design, more suitable for decorating walls than figurative or naturalistic patterns with shadows and the illusion of depth. This was because they thought that figurative subjects, or those which imitated reality by using perspective and shading, were creating a false impression on a flat surface. The majority of consumers, however, favoured the more traditional styles which were also for sale during this period.
This is a design for intended for both a wallpaper and a textile. The wallpaper manufacturers Essex & Co.bought this design as it is, but the firm of Newman, Smith & Newman, who printed cotton textiles, bought the same design without the bird.
This is a design for intended for both a wallpaper and a textile. The wallpaper manufacturers Essex & Co.bought this design as it is, but the firm of Newman, Smith & Newman, who printed cotton textiles, bought the same design without the bird.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, black chalk and watercolour, on paper |
| Brief description | Design by C. F. A. Voysey for a wallpaper and textile showing plants and bird, 1891 |
| Physical description | Design (unfinished) for a wallpaper and a textile showing a repeating pattern of birds perched amongst plants. The pattern is a half drop repeat with a horizontal mirror arrangement. Only the central pattern unit is coloured in watercolour. The bird is blue, the large leaves above its head are green and the large flower is yellow. The rest of the pattern is in pencil or black charcoal and in some parts the pattern is merely suggested; Pencil, black chalk and watercolour, on paper. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by C.F.A Voysey by request of the Museum |
| Production | Attribution note: The inscription 'Sold ... & to Newman without bird' on the design refers to the firm of Newman, Smith & Newman, cotton printers who evidently did not require the bird in the design |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Designers like William Morris, Walter Crane and the young Charles Voysey were working at the forefront of design in the late 1880s and 1890s. They considered flat stylised patterns, of the kind seen in this design, more suitable for decorating walls than figurative or naturalistic patterns with shadows and the illusion of depth. This was because they thought that figurative subjects, or those which imitated reality by using perspective and shading, were creating a false impression on a flat surface. The majority of consumers, however, favoured the more traditional styles which were also for sale during this period. This is a design for intended for both a wallpaper and a textile. The wallpaper manufacturers Essex & Co.bought this design as it is, but the firm of Newman, Smith & Newman, who printed cotton textiles, bought the same design without the bird. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.267-1913 |
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| Record created | October 13, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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