Art News

The de Morgan Centre Re-opens in London

artwork: Evelyn de Morgan - "Night and Sleep", 1878 - Oil on Canvas. - In this painting the couple who represent Night and Sleep float through the sky scattering poppies onto the earth beneath. This painting overtly references the Victorians use of laudanum as a sleeping draught (which was made from tincture of the opium poppy).  -  Collection of the de Morgan Centre, London.


London.- Refurbished, re-configured restored and re-hung, visitors will once again be able to experience the stunning collection of William De Morgan’s ceramics and Evelyn De Morgan’s  paintings – the largest collection of each anywhere in the world. While William De Morgan was the most important ceramicist of the Arts and Crafts Movement and a close friend and collaborator of William Morris, his wife Evelyn was a talented and acclaimed artist and symbolist painter. Together they were actively involved in a number of social movements of their day; including prison reform and women’s suffrage and so the Centre is also a rich resource for students of late 19th Century art, social and political history. Once again the Centre will host a lively and wide ranging programme of temporary exhibitions, many featuring the work of contemporary crafts-people thus promoting craft education and the best craft practices of today. Their aim is to ensure that the Arts and Crafts Movement goes on into the future and that the Centre remains a focus of relevance and interest.

artwork: William De Morgan - (Decorated by Joe Juster) "Blackbird Bottle" - 1888-1907. This baluster necked bottle reflects the Victorian fascination with the Middle East form and decoration. Collection of the de Morgan Centre.For their re-opening, the De Morgan Centre are presenting an exhibition of Fine Cell’s work in the re-designed temporary exhibition space.  The charity trains prisoners in highly skilled and paid needlework, using William De Morgan’s tile designs for many of their cushion ranges. The De Morgan Centre has had a long-standing relationship with Fine Cell Work and now once again visitors will have a chance to see and purchase from a range of cushions, bags and small items. The De Morgan Centre is re-opening alongside Wandsworth Museum which launched in 2010. The two small independent museums will support each other by sharing expertise and resources such as a fabulous cafe. Co-existing in the same building, we aim to provide an exciting and varied visitor destination in the heart of Wandsworth.

The De Morgan Foundation owns an unparalleled collection of work by the late 19th and early 20th ceramicist William De Morgan and his artist wife Evelyn. Both highly esteemed in their fields, they were key participants at the beginning of the still influential Arts and Crafts Movement. This wonderful collection was formed by Evelyn’s sister, Mrs. Wilhelmina Stirling. She was a fascinating woman who published her sister and  brother-in-law’s biography and other books on diverse subjects. She inherited some pieces from her sister and brother-in-law and actively sought out other works to add to her collection which she assembled at her home, Old Battersea House in London. Mrs Stirling died at the age of ninety nine in 1965. She bequeathed her substantial art collection to be looked after in Trust and the De Morgan Foundation Charity was formed in 1967 to discharge this duty. Mrs Stirling leased her home from the Borough Council who, after her death, granted a long lease to the American publisher, Malcolm Forbes. He restored it and for a period of time gave the De Morgan Foundation space to display elements of its collection. A large number of ceramics were lent to Cardiff Castle and the National Trust properties, Cragside in Northumberland and Knightshayes in Devon. Since 2002 the Foundation’s collection has been housed at the De Morgan Centre in South West London. However it was a victim of Wandsworth Council’s  arts cuts which closed the library whose building it shared in 2009 and the Foundation began to search for a new home for its collection of over 1000 ceramics and 500 paintings and drawings. However the Centre has received a reprieve and after some extensive negotiations it will be reopening to the public for a further 3 years in its West Hill location, alongside the recently opened Wandsworth Museum. Dating from 1887, the year in which the De Morgans were married, the building accommodates the collection and archive, and provides additional space for temporary exhibitions and seminars. The exhibition space was designed by Michael Davies of Michael Davies Associates, London, to take maximum advantage of the fine Arts and Crafts architecture with state of the art exhibition display facilities and lighting.

artwork: Evelyn De Morgan - "The Hour Glass", 1904-1905 - Oil on Canvas. Along with her husband William De Morgan, Evelyn was part of the nineteenth century circle of artists and designers which included Edward Burne-Jones. - Collection of the de Morgan Centre, London.

William (1839-1917) and Evelyn (1855-1919) De Morgan were both highly respected artists in their own rights. They married in 1887 and in addition to their art, they became involved in many of the leading issues of the day including, prison reform, pacifism and spiritualism. Together they were also involved with the Suffragette movement. Evelyn was a signatory for the “Declaration in Favour of Women’s Suffrage” in 1889 and William showed his support by serving as Vice President of the “Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage” in 1913. They were described by Sir Edward Poynter (President of the Royal Academy) as “…two of the rarest spirits of the Age.” The most important ceramicist of the Arts and Crafts Movement, De Morgan rediscovered the lost art of lustre decoration and the brilliant colours of Islamic pottery, particularly the bright turquoise which features prominently in his ceramic work. He was especially inspired by Isnik work of the 16th century. De Morgan began his artistic career working alongside contemporaries William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, before opening his own potter’s studio in Chelsea. De Morgan worked primarily as a ceramic designer, and had a substantial staff of decorators. These included Joe Juster and Charles and Fred Passenger, whose initials can often be seen on De Morgan pieces. During his career, De Morgan worked on a range of commissions, from stately homes to the Czar of Russia’s yacht, and his tiles decorated the public rooms and corridors of several P&O Liners. De Morgan was also a stained glass artist, inventor and chemist. After his pottery closed in 1904 he embarked on a career as a novelist and in the final years before his death he published seven novels, all of which enjoyed enormous success and brought their author the financial security which had until then eluded him. De Morgan was actively involved with the issues of  his day such as education, prison reform, the suffragette movement, pacifism and spiritualism. Evelyn was inspired to become an artist by her uncle, the symbolist painter John Roddam Spencer Stanhope. In 1873 she was one of the first women to attend the recently opened Slade School of Art. She won many medals and awards at the Slade and as an up and coming young artist was invited to exhibit at the opening exhibition of the influential Grosvenor Gallery, alongside such established names as Edward Burne-Jones, George Frederick Watts and Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Evelyn spent much of her time in Italy, particularly in Florence where her artist uncle lived. The influence of Botticelli and his contemporaries is apparent in the style of many of her paintings. In 1887 Evelyn and William De Morgan married. While each continued to practise their own work, they jointly became interested in and involved with many of the social issues of their day. Visit the centre’s website at … http://www.demorgan.org.uk