William Morris founded the design company Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and relaunched it as Morris & Co. in 1875. In response to the advent of mass production, Morris & Co. designed furniture, wallpaper and textiles that emphasized beauty and craftsmanship. The Huntington Art Museum houses a substantial collection of hand-drawn designs for stained glass, textiles, wallpapers and objects produced by the Morris & Co. firm: furniture, ceramics, textiles and artwork. It is one of the world's premier 19th-century Arts and Crafts collections. The Art Museum's William Morris collection contains more than 5,000 objects, including individual drawings and sketchbooks, textiles and printed wallpaper samples, and a study collection of over 600 items, mainly 35mm slides of Morris & Co. stained glass installations taken by the Sanford and Helen Berger.
To view and research objects held by the Art Museum, please contact the Curator of British Art.
The Art Museum digitized 3,566 objects from its William Morris collection in eMuseum. The collections relevant to Morris have been tagged as part of the William Morris Collection. Using the “Refine Results” feature, researchers can refine their search results within the collection.
The Art Museum holdings include:
Watercolors, prints, sketchbooks, and pen and ink drawings by Edward Burne-Jones, J.H. Dearle, William de Morgan, May Morris, William Morris, Walter Crane, and Philip Webb
Painted ceiling, wall and mosaic floor designs
A handwoven carpet and graphic carpet designs
An embroidered cheval screen
Tapestry and carpet trial pieces
Woven and printed textiles and designs, including contemporary material
Printed wallpaper samples, including contemporary and a woodblock for wallpaper printing
Color separations for woodblock designs
Stained glass, designs and cartoons
Quarries and quarry designs
Ceramics
Approximately 200 engravings for reference
Photographs of stained-glass windows and cartoons, textiles and wallpapers
Several items are on long-term display in the European Art Gallery as of 2024:
Peacock Garden Wallpaper Frieze
Walter Crane, designer. Manufactured by Jeffrey and Company, London, ca.1889.
Object Number: 2001.20
Sussex Chair
Manufactured by Morris & Co., London, ca. 1870.
Object Number: 2003.14
"Violet and Columbine" Reclining Chair
Philip Webb, designer. Manufactured by Morris & Co., London, ca. 1880.
Object Number: 2005.2
Cinderella Tile Panel
Edward Burne-Jones, designer. Lucy Faulker, illustrator. Manufactured by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, & Co., London, 1862-1865.
Object Number: 2000.5.1872
David Healey Memorial Window from the Unitarian Chapel, Heywood, Lancashire
Edward Burne-Jones, designer. Manufactured by Morris & Co., London, 1898.
Object Number: 2000.5.530
The Huntington's holdings related to Morris & Company's business records often blur the line between art objects and business tools. Some items, like wallpaper and textile samples, could belong in either category. The following list provides examples of the types of material held by the Art Museum at The Huntington. (Linked to online records where available; see Library for additional materials).
N.B. Library manuscripts and archival objects are identified by call numbers, while Art Museum objects are identified by object numbers.
Art Museum objects may be consulted by appointment only. To view items held by the Art Museum, please contact the Curator of British Art.
William Morris Textiles by Linda Parry
London, England : V & A Publishing, 2013.
Call number: NK8898.M67 P37 2013
William Morris Tiles by Richard and Hilary Myers
Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset : Richard Dennis, 1996
Call number: NK4670.7.G73 M6736 1996