Armchair
1870-1900 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The artist, Ford Madox Brown, was one of the original partners in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., the firm founded by William Morris and his friends in 1861. Although not known as a furniture designer, Brown designed some pieces of painted bedroom furniture, now at Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire, and may have suggested the addition of this armchair with a round seat, and a version without arms, to the popular 'Sussex' range of rush-seated furniture. If Brown was responsible for this design then it was presumably introduced before 1875, when he objected to Morris’s proposal to reorganise the firm under his sole ownership, with compensation for the original partners, and rename it Morris & Co.
The 'Sussex' range, the most widely known furniture associated with William Morris, remained in production for over fifty years and was still advertised in the firm’s catalogue of about 1912. The turned frame and rush seat of this armchair were inspired by traditional rural furniture techniques.
The 'Sussex' range, the most widely known furniture associated with William Morris, remained in production for over fifty years and was still advertised in the firm’s catalogue of about 1912. The turned frame and rush seat of this armchair were inspired by traditional rural furniture techniques.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Armchair, from the Sussex range of chairs by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., later Morris & Co., English 1870-1900 |
| Physical description | Wooden armchair stained blue with turned frame and round rush seat |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Object history | This armchair is part of a set with another armchair, Circ.27-1962, and two chairs, Circ.25 and Circ.26-1962. The armchairs and chairs, which have round seats and square backs with a design of crossed and horizontal rails, are examples of the different designs developed for the Sussex range of rush-seated chairs. The range was illustrated by Morris & Co., in their catalogue, Specimens of Furniture Upholstery & Interior Decoration, n.d. (c. 1912), page 63. It is not clear who was responsible for the design of the round-seated armchair and chair nor when the design was first introduced into the Sussex range. This design was attributed to Ford Madox Brown, one of the original partners in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., in a periodical, The Furnisher, III, 1900-1, pp. 61-3. If Madox Brown was responsible for the design, it was presumably before the firm was re-organised, against the wishes of Brown and two other partners, under the sole direction of William Morris who renamed it Morris & Co. in 1875. On loan from V&A to Leighton House 1969-2008. |
| Historical context | Although the surviving business records for both Morris, Marshall, Falkner & Co. and Morris & Co.are incomplete, it is possible to identify owners of the chair with round rush seat and a back composed of crossed and horizontal rails. Edward Burne-Jones, a close friend of Morris, ordered four round-seated chairs from Morris & Co in 1878 which may have been of this type. Three chairs with round seats and backs with crossed and horizontal rails are shown in a photograph c. 1898 of Georgiana Burne-Jones's sitting room in their house, the Grange, North End Road, London (RCHME). William and Jane Morris also used this type of chair at Kelmscott House, Hammersmith, as shown in photographs of Morris's study (National Portrait Gallery) and of the drawing room (RCHME). |
| Production | The design of the chair with round seat and square back with crossed and horizontal rails in the Sussex range was attributed to Ford Madox Brown by The Furnisher, III, 1900-1, pp. 61-3. |
| Summary | The artist, Ford Madox Brown, was one of the original partners in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., the firm founded by William Morris and his friends in 1861. Although not known as a furniture designer, Brown designed some pieces of painted bedroom furniture, now at Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire, and may have suggested the addition of this armchair with a round seat, and a version without arms, to the popular 'Sussex' range of rush-seated furniture. If Brown was responsible for this design then it was presumably introduced before 1875, when he objected to Morris’s proposal to reorganise the firm under his sole ownership, with compensation for the original partners, and rename it Morris & Co. The 'Sussex' range, the most widely known furniture associated with William Morris, remained in production for over fifty years and was still advertised in the firm’s catalogue of about 1912. The turned frame and rush seat of this armchair were inspired by traditional rural furniture techniques. |
| Associated objects | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.28-1962 |
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| Record created | October 29, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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