Flowerpot Fire Screen

1880·Wood, cotton or linen ground, silk floss·101.6 × 59.7 × 32.4 cm (40 × 23 1/2 × 12 3/4 in.)

The two fire screens in the collection [2018.845 and 2018.846] illustrate the variety of ways in which one could purchase objects from Morris & Co. The Flowerpot Fire Screen was likely embroidered, assembled, and sold completed as seen here. May Morris herself stitched several versions of the Flowerpot panel. The Honeysuckle design may have been a kit that was sold for amateurs to embroider themselves, as the stitching is less precise. Both of these designs could also be made into cushions, and they continued to be sold as kits decades after they were introduced.

Catalogue

Year: 1880
Medium: Wood, cotton or linen ground, silk floss
Dimensions: 101.6 × 59.7 × 32.4 cm (40 × 23 1/2 × 12 3/4 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: William Morris

Artist

William Morris

Painting

William Morris was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he campaigned for socialism in fin de siècle Great Britain.

Full artist profile →