ART AND CRAFT MOVEMENT

(Essay)
The Arts and Crafts movement emerged from the attempt to reform design and

decoration in mid-19th century Britain. It was a reaction against a perceived decline in standards

that the art was associated with machinery and factory production. It stood for traditional

craftsmanship, and often used medieval, romantic, or folk styles of decoration. It advocated

economic and social reform and was anti-industrial in its theme. The Art and Crafts Movement

was a reaction to this societal imbalance, whose supporters were concerned with the growing

mass-production of cheap goods and increasingly unhealthy urban environments. The Arts and

Crafts Movement was as much about social reform as it was about a specific style of design.

As a reaction to the manufactured and ornate styles of the Victorian age, Arts and

Crafts-style homes embraced handcrafted design and approachable materials. In the Victorian

era, art and the discussion of beauty took on a new role as a “formidable cultural force”

(Denisoff 213). This development is evident in the rise of artistic communities such as the

aesthetic movement, the Pre-Raphaelites, and the Arts and Crafts movement.

William Morris and Ferdinand de Rothschild both expressed opinions on the changing

nature of art and its implications for class and culture. In 1882, William Morris discussed what

he calls “The Lesser Arts” in a chapter of his lecture series titled Hopes and Fears for Art,

advocating a socialist approach to art. Morris thought that people should incorporate art into

everyday life, so as to avoid monotony. Ferdinand de Rothschild’s essay “The Expansion of

Art,” published in the Fortnightly Review in 1885, discusses the advantages and disadvantages

of art becoming less exclusive. Morris and Rothschild argue that making art available to lower
classes would be beneficial to society, but Rothschild’s argument is practical while Morris’s is

idealistic.

In the section of his essay titled “The Lesser Arts,” William Morris expresses his

socialist ideas for spreading art to people of all classes. The parallels thought between the authors

indicates that the beliefs and thoughts of the socialist regarding the realm of culture and art were

relevant to each other and there is no any difficult economics and politics are present. Rather,

both the political and economic ideas are relevant to cultural and art studies as well as for public

policy.
REFERENCE:

Curran, Eileen, and Patrick Leary. “The Fortnightly Review 1865-1900.” The Wellesly Index to

Victorian Periodicals 2007

Davis, R.W. “Rothschild, Ferdinand James Anselm de, Baron de Rothschild in the nobility of the

Austrian empire 1839–1898.” Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography 2004: Oxford

University Press.

Landow, George P. “The Arts and Crafts Movement: A Brief Introduction.” The Victorian Web.

Brown University, 2 Jan. 2011.

Leighton, Mary Elizabeth, and Lisa Surridge, Eds. The Broadview Anthology of Victorian

Prose: 1832-1901. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2012

Morris, William. “From Hopes and Fears for Art.” Ed. Mary Elizabeth Leighton and Lisa

Surridge. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2012. Print. Rothschild, Ferdinand. “The Expansion of

Art.” Fortnightly Review”.

Sidhu, Asha. "Arts And Crafts Movement – Victorian Culture and Thought." Victorian Culture

and Thought.