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Compton

Wallpaper
1896 (made)
Artist/Maker
Morris & Co. (publisher)
Jeffrey & Co. (printer)
Morris, William (designer)
John Henry Dearle (designer)
Place of origin
England (printed)

Portion of 'Compton' wallpaper, a floral and foliage pattern, the majority of the design in shades of green and (?)peach, on a blue ground; Print on paper.

Object details

Categories
Wall Coverings
Prints
Object type
Wallpaper
TitleCompton (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Print on paper
Paper
Printing
Brief description
Portion of 'Compton' wallpaper, a floral and foliage pattern, the majority of the design in shades of green and (?)peach, on a blue ground; executed both as a wallpaper and as a printed textile; Published by Morris & Co.; Printed by Jeffrey & Co.; England; 1896.
Physical description
Portion of 'Compton' wallpaper, a floral and foliage pattern, the majority of the design in shades of green and (?)peach, on a blue ground; Print on paper.
Dimensions
  • Width: 52.6cm
  • Height: 66.2cm
Style
Arts and Crafts (Movement)
Marks and inscriptions
SPECIMEN OF WALL-PAPER / designed by / b. 1834] William Morris [d. 1896 / Given by Sydney Vacher, Esq. / E.2216-1913 (Lettered on paper label, attached to bottom-left of board that the wallpaper is mounted on.)
Credit line
Given by Sydney Vacher
Object history
Given by Mr Sydney Vacher.
Production
This was William Morris's last design, executed both as a wallpaper and as a printed textile.
Subjects depicted
Flowers
Floral Pattern
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • 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, Accessions 1913, London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1914
  • While this design has been widely claimed (including by May Morris) to be William Morris's last design, Linda Parry uncovered evidence in her 1995 book 'William Morris Textiles' (p. 56) that Henry Dearle was the designer: 'Compton designed as a wallpaper and printed on to fabrics using the same blocks, has for many years been mistakenly considered to be Morris's last repeating design (if not his finest) which shows the considerable development of Dearle's talents. His designs for the 1890s are considerably tighter in format than those seen before and in four particularly successful designs, Trail, Daffodil, Florence and Graveney, a development of the diagonal bias in Morris's later work can be seen...'
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.2216-1913

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Record createdJune 19, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O250889/compton-wallpaper-morris-william/
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