Discover & Learn
The Story behind William De Morgan
William De Morgan (1839 – 1917), was the leading ceramist of the Arts and Crafts movement (c.1870 – 1910). Born in Bloomsbury, London, De Morgan formally trained as a fine artist then developed his interest in the scientific and mathematical. He began his career by creating stained glass panels before moving onto ceramics; in particular, hearth place tiles, murals, and “hollowware”.
The London based De Morgan & Co., excelled in the re-development of the ancient art of lustre glazing. This complex chemical process produces an iridescent metallic sheen to the ceramic surface adding glitz to the smog of Victorian London. Over his career, De Morgan drew hundreds of animals with anthropomorphic sensibilities. Meanwhile, his plants and flowers became more fantastical and imaginative as the De Morgan style became more developed.
De Morgan used his mathematical skill to plan designs for single tiles that could be repeated horizontally, vertically, or rotated to create a range of patterns when installed. The pattern are particularly triumphant between 1889-1898 when he produced large scale architectural work with his new business partner, Halsey Ricardo (1854 – 1928).
De Morgan began producing ceramics in Chelsea (1872 – 1882) then moved to Merton Abbey (1882 – 1888) before opening the pottery studio at Sands End, Fulham. He was driven by his desire to produce lusterware, starting with ruby red copper lustre in Chelsea before developing his ethereal blue “Moonlight Suite” in Fulham, the height of his achievements. The business finally closed in 1907.
Commissions for the interiors of palatial yachts and for the installation of vast tile schemes (as in the famous Middle Eastern, tiled Arab Hall and Narcissus Hall at Leighton House, Kensington, London built 1877 – 1881) were important to De Morgan. Such large-scale commissions introduced him to ceramic designs that would influence his practice.
The Fulham period was arguably the most ambitious of his later career, with a portfolio of large-scale decorative wall panels capturing the mood of exotic luxury made for 12 Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company cruise ships such as “SS Sutlej” and “SS Malta”.
A significant part of British Arts history, this ceramic artist was a life-long friend of William Morris. His career spread across two distinct periods of British Art; the first saw him being a contemporary of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood before being a central figure of the British Arts & Crafts movement. His final years saw him succeed again, but this time as a novelist, before he died in 1917.
byLegacy® is a collaboration with the De Morgan Foundation, curating De Morgan designs with crafted home interiors, fabrics, and accessories.
Values of Land
Air and Sea are embodied by the work of these two Artists where there is endangerment of both how things are made by hand and endangerment of the animals, land and mammals they depict.
Skills Learnings for subscribers/ members
COURSE (for 14years+): Explore traditional 19th Century methods and their application in a 21st Century design and manufacturing environment. Designed for external course providers.
DESIGN like De Morgan (app – in development)
With a license from the Foundation, all products are badged with the Foundation logo and text reference to byLegacy®. Most pieces are from the Collection.
All packaging reference the Artist and tells the summary story behind the work.
Produced with Value:
Items are produced with the ethical standards relevant to their silo
(e.g mono material, Oeko-Tex & REACH compliant, packaging is petroleum – free and pure materials are used where possible).
Original Values:
The integrity of the De Morgan Collection is maintained throughout; the redrawing has been painstaking in its development, to ensure that the values of symmetry, form and colours are as close a likeness to the intention of the original Artists.
Accessible:
The collection of imagery is summarised on the leading product piece – Land. Sea. Air. tissue paper – selling at the lowest price of the collection. This piece leads our communication on sustainability that De Morgan so involved in, making anthropotheism a signature throughout the portfolio of the Partnership.
