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| National Portrait Gallery |
The other pre-Raphaelites liked to rib him. He always seemed to be the butt of their jokes and I've always felt a bit sorry for him. He stuck by his wife and his friend (Rossetti) even though he knew about their affair.
The exhibition wasn't huge and much of what was on display I have seen before at other exhibitions but it I enjoyed it nonetheless. There was a short video about The Red House, just pictures inside and out. It looks stunning. I've been meaning to visit the house for ages - perhaps next year. There was a plan on display of the outside of the house designed by Morris and architect Philip Webb. Here was also various pieces of furniture, a rush-bottom Sussex chair, a painted wardrobe, a beautiful textile with words about the River Thames (which runs close to Kelmscott Manor in the Cotswolds where Morris and his family lived). There was one of Morris' paintings, a rarity as Morris didn't rate himself as a painter and did very few, but there were paintings by Rossetti and portraits of Edward Burne Jones, Lizzie Siddal and Jane Morris.
The exhibition also paid tribute to Morris' interest in socialism. He gave lectures, produced pamphlets. He comes across as quite a mild man but he was passionate about this and was part of the Hammersmith Socialist Society and their banner was on display (there is a pub named after him in Hammersmith).
After Morris died his daughter, May, wrote a letter considering what her father would be remembered for. She listed various things he had done in his life, the stain glass windows, the textiles, his poetry and much more. It only went to reinforced the scale of his creativity. The original of this letter is on display at the exhibition.
The second half of the exhibitions deals with 'second generation' pre-Raphaelites and those influenced specially by Morris, including the idea of the new garden cities.
William Morris was a truly remarkable man.
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| The fridge magnet I bought! |
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