See our news section for more recent events The inspiration behind the popular patterns of flowers and birds in designs by Arts & Crafts firm Morris & Co., will be explored in an exhibition beginning this summer at the National Trust’s Standen House and Garden in west Sussex. William Morris (1834-1896), founding father of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain, designed some of the most recognisable textile patterns of the nineteenth century. The creative force behind Morris & Co., which produced his designs, Morris had a love of nature which influenced his work. At Standen House and Garden, the Arts & Crafts house designed for the Beale family in the late 19th century, Morris & Co. patterns were chosen for furnishings throughout their home and exemplify the popularity of bringing nature indoors. The exhibition will invite visitors to discover how repeating patterns of flowers and birds in Morris & Co. designs were chosen, and the value that Morris placed on the revival of traditional skills and techniques including natural dyeing and tapestry weaving. In collaboration with Morris & Co., which still produces his designs today, the exhibition ‘Inspired by Nature’ will include a recreation of the company’s original showroom and enable visitors to experience how customers like the Beale family selected products for their homes. The exhibition will celebrate Standen’s well-known collection of Morris & Co. patterns and reveal the process behind their creation, so we are really excited to be able to display the original woodblocks used to print the wallpapers seen in the house. ‘Inspired by Nature’ will extend from the house across the garden and wider estate. A programme of events will include talks, craft workshops and family events, and the chance to see plants such as pomegranate, rose and honeysuckle in the conservatory and garden, reflecting those in Morris and Co.’s patterns. A trail inspired by William Morris’s poem Tapestry Trees will lead visitors through the Arts & Crafts garden overlooking the Sussex Weald, showing why each of the trees including oak, ash and yew was important to Morris. nationatrust.org.uk/standen
