WILLIAM DE MORGAN was Britain's greatest artist-potter and a major figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late nineteenth century. Before the Industrial Revolution, essentially everything had been made by hand, but by the mid-nineteenth century the design and production of household artefacts had become anonymised and mechanised. The Arts and Crafts Movement demanded involvement of the human hand in design and manufacture. The movement was inspired by William Morris, and while he excelled in the design and production of wallpaper, fabrics and furniture, ceramics were not his speciality. Although not a partner in William Morris's company, William De Morgan was the principal producer of ceramics for Morris, and was a member of the circle of figures responsible for driving the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was to resonate around the world over the next 50 years.
William De Morgan was born to liberal and academic parents in London. While he knew he must work as an artist, his interest in ceramics did not develop until after he had been to (and dropped out of) art school, and then worked as a designer of stained glass. Tiles, vases and chargers with fantastic animals, intensely coloured flowers and foliage, and complex designs in the `Persian' style were all characteristics of his style.
He set the style for other artists-potters of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as the Martin Brothers and William Moorcroft. He threw himself into the technical minutiae of pottery manufacture, became a best selling novelist, was connected with great artists of the day, and left a legacy of good humour and unique achievement. A hundred years later his original tiles, vases and chargers are highly sought after, his designs are widely copied, and the philosophy of the Arts and Crafts Movement remains relevant today.
