Make sure to come out to the Arkansas Art Center next week for the latest Art of Architecture lecture, by UALR Art History professor Floyd Martin!
William Morris and Arts and Craft Movement
A Lecture by Floyd Martin
William Morris, born in England in 1834,is long recognized as one of the major figures of the Arts and Craft Movement. A designer of textiles, wallpaper, furniture and books, Morris emphasized the importance of natural and organic forms in his work. Seeking inspiration from vernacular architecture and home furnishings, he schooled himself in the techniques and materials used in their construction.
Committed to making “aesthetically pleasing and well crafted things and making them available to as many people as possible”, Morris, had a profound influence on building and design. Though not an architect himself, working in collaboration with architect Philip Webb, he played a major role in the design of his own home, known as the Red House, a structure built in 1860 and now part of the British National Trust. Standen, another property with which Morris was associated, is a legacy of the Arts and Crafts movement and, too, part of the Trust. The American Arts and Craft Movement, which “descended” from the British one, spawned bungalows, Mission furniture and a variety of home furnishings. Reaching its zenith in the early 20th Century, by 1930 it had lost its popular appeal. But interest in it continues today among preservationists, scholars, artists, craftsmen, collectors and more.
Professor of Art History, a faculty member since 1982 and the current Acting Co-Chair of the UALR Art Department, Floyd Martin has taught courses addressing a range of periods, from Baroque through the mid-20th century. British art and architecture of the 18th and 19th Centuries are his particular interest. Material for his lecture on William Morris was developed during his 2010 sabbatical which was spent in England. While there, he visited the Red House for the first time and paid a return visit to Standen. Martin, currently serving a three-year term as president of the Southeastern College Art Conference, received his Ph. D at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His undergraduate degree was earned at Carleton College and his master’s from the University of Iowa.
