Arts and Crafts Movement - Oxford Definition

The name given to the movement begun in England during the second half of the Victorian period, which revived handicrafts and raised the standards of design. It was inspired by the writings and teachings of William Morris (1834–96) and John Ruskin (1819–1900), who both deplored the effects of mass-production and mechanization on design and harked back to the standards of craftsmanship of the Middle Ages. Morris set out to re-create a hand-crafted industry with his hand-produced textiles, wallpaper, book-designs, and furniture. His ideas and methods had a great influence on many craftsmen and designers of the period, such as C. R. Ashbee, Walter Crane, and A. H. Mackmurdo, and led to the foundation of a number of guilds, including the Guild of Handicraft and the Art Workers Guild. Designs, which usually incorporated naturalistic and plant forms, broke away from traditional Victorian fashions and, through exhibitions, had an influence on the developing Art Nouveau style. The difficulty of producing hand-crafted pieces for a mass market led to the decline of the movement, but it left a legacy of studio potters, weavers, and silversmiths in the 20th century who chose traditional methods over industrial mass-production.