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The origins of the Arts and Crafts movement
The Arts and Crafts movement originated in England (in the United Kingdom) in the mid 1800s as a reaction against the mass-produced goods of the Industrial Revolution and the intricate and elaborate art forms of the popular Victorian style of art, architecture, furniture and design. The movement embraced a philosophy of handmade products and established a preference for simple forms and unadorned designs.
Robert Prenzel, wardrobe from 'The Mathias Suite', 1906-07. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria
The English pioneers of the Arts and Crafts movement, such as writer and designer William Morris and ceramicist William De Morgan, rebelled against the Industrial Revolution's mass production processes being used to create furnishings and architecture. They aspired to the handcrafted processes of medieval artisans. They believed that the work of skilled craftspeople should be respected and highly valued. They developed workshops and companies to produce their furnishings in their own style.
In England, furniture, jewellery, household items, ceramics, hand-decorated wallpapers and textiles, gardens and even entire houses were produced in the Arts and Crafts style.
The Arts and Crafts movement in Australia
The Arts and Crafts movement spread internationally. It was significant in the United States of America and came to Australia towards the end of the 19th century.
Australian designers learned about the Arts and Crafts style from retail catalogues and art journals from England, such as Art Journal and The Studio. They also had access to American magazines displaying the style, such as Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman.
They were inspired by what they saw to create their own works in a similar style.
Arts and Crafts furniture in Australia
From 1900 to 1920, Australian furniture makers embraced the Arts and Crafts style. The designs featured strong lines with solid construction. Often joins and fixings were large and prominent and were the only embellishments on a piece.
Christobel Francis Rojo in Melbourne and Beard Watson Ltd in Sydney were highly regarded for the wooden Arts and Crafts furniture they produced during this period.
Use of Australian timbers
As is still common in Australian furniture, manufacturers of Arts and Craft furniture in Australia used European timbers, such as English Oak and Pine, as well as Australian hardwoods such as Blackwood, Queensland Maple, Mountain Ash, Silky Oak and Queensland Walnut.
Sometimes the Australian timbers were stained to imitate European timbers, but often they were used in their natural state. Used naturally, Australian timbers display unique characteristics in grain patterns and colour variations and they provided a distinctive touch to the Arts and Crafts pieces manufactured in Australia.
Arts and Crafts architecture in Australia
Architecture was an important factor of the Arts and Crafts movement in England, where distinctive houses were built in the Arts and Crafts style, including William Morris's The Red House, built by Phillip Webb in 1859.
Blackwood House. Image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria
The Arts and Crafts Movement had an influence on the architecture of Australia from the late 1800s, where the style of building was adapted to the Australian landscape and conditions. Arts and Crafts houses in Australia feature strong lines and some subtle gothic touches with a high level of attention to detail.
Several Arts and Crafts style houses have been built in neighbourhoods around Canberra.
Blackwood House in Melbourne was designed and built in an Arts and Crafts style by Butler and Ussher in 1891.
Redleaf is a large house in Sydney, built in 1899 to an Arts and Crafts style by Howard Joseland. After several alterations over the years that did not fit with the Arts and Crafts style, it was restored to its original style and is now heritage listed.
Maryborough Town Hall designed by Robin Dods. Image courtesy of the Maryborough City Council
Some Australian churches of the early 20th century designed by the architect Robin Dods also reflect the Arts and Crafts style.
The legacy of the Arts and Crafts movement in Australia today
Although the Arts and Crafts Movement did not dominate mainstream design and production practices in Australia from the beginning of the 20th century, the ideals of the movement have endured.
Today, there is even more mass production and mass marketing than at the time of the Industrial Revolution but there is also a great value placed on individually designed and handmade items. Organisations and associations, such as Craft Australia, are dedicated to promoting the economic and cultural benefits of crafts in Australia.
Handmade crafts and artworks are displayed and sold in galleries and markets across Australia. Quality hand crafted items are regarded as economically and culturally valuable. Many Australians are attracted to contemporary and antique items that reflect the hard work of a skilled craftsperson.
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Useful links
- The William Morris Society
- The Minneapolis Institute of Arts - the American Arts and Craft Movement
- The Arts and Craft Society
- Retrokat - The Red House
- Founders of the Arts and Crafts Movement - 1870-1900
Australian resources
- Arts and Crafts Furniture in Australia
- Queensland Art Gallery - Lady Woodcarvers of Rockhampton
- ABC web site - The Comfort Zone - Arts and Crafts Movement
- Craft Australia - Interview with Carol Sedestrom Ross - includes discussion of the effect of the Arts and Craft Movement on Australian craft
- Anglican Church of Australia Archive - Images of Australian-made Arts and Crafts fittings
- Architecture Australia Magazine
- The Society of Arts and Crafts of NSW: Our story
Australian Arts and Crafts organisations
- Craft Australia
- Craft Australia - Australian guilds, societies and associations
- Australia Council - Visual Arts
- The Quilters Guild of NSW
- Australian Ceramics
- The Australian Association of Glass Artists
- WoodLink - the Victorian Woodworkers' Association
- Sydney Wood-Turners Guild
- Australiana Society
Australian galleries
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
- Powerhouse Museum
- Cowra Regional Art Gallery
- Goulburn Regional Art Gallery
- Sturt Gallery
- Wagga Wagga Regional Art Gallery
Northern Territory
Queensland
Victoria
- Albury Regional Gallery
- Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
- National Gallery of Victoria
- Shepparton Art Gallery
Search over 3,500 Australian websites for information about:
Last updated: 4th March 2008
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