Roger Fry (1866 – 1934) was a British painter, writer, art critic, designer, and lecturer. He was born in London.
Education
Between 1885 – 1890, he studied natural sciences, Cambridge University where he was a friend of Charles Robert Ashbee. However, he turned to paint which he pursued in England and at the Académie Julian, Paris, 1892.
Biography
He wrote articles for the Athenaeum and Burlington Magazine. He published his first book on Giovanni Bellini (1899).
Between 1906-10, he was the curator, of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in conflict with its chair J.P. Morgan. He discovered Cézanne at this time as well as the French avant-garde painters, he introduced their work to British audiences in an exhibition of post-impressionism ( a term that he coined) in 1910.
In 1910, met Clive and Vanessa Bell. He became the artistic leader of the Bloomsbury group. He had affairs with Lady Ottoline Morrell and Vanessa Bell.
In c1911, he produced paintings that showed Byzantine. and Post-Impressionist influences.
Omega Workshops
In 1913, he opened the Omega Workshops in an attempt to apply Post-Impressionism to the decorative arts. Between 1913-19, was its co-director, designing textiles, pottery, and furnishings including painted furniture. The workshop was set up to provide income for Fry’s young avant-garde artist friends, including Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.
The printed and woven fabrics, carpets, and embroideries designed and sold by Omega Workshops artisans revolutionized Britain’s textile design early in the 20th century.
In 1919, Fry closed the workshop. In his last ten years, he published eight more books on art. He lectured on art at Queen’s Hall, London. He began to paint commissioned portraits in 1933, Slade professor, Cambridge University, espousing unorthodox views on Greek and ethnographic art. His ashes were interred in an urn decorated by Vanessa Bell.
Sample of Works
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.
Hiesinger, K. B., & Marcus, G. H. (1995). Landmarks of twentieth-century design: an illustrated handbook. Abbeville Press. https://amzn.to/3a4ADve
More British Designers
-
Daniel Cottier: A Pioneer in Stained Glass Design and Art Trading
Daniel Cottier: Pioneering stained glass artist and entrepreneur who revolutionized the craft in the 19th century. His innovative designs, collaborations with architects, and entrepreneurial spirit laid the foundation for modern stained glass. Learn about his legacy, preservation efforts, and the ongoing appreciation of his remarkable works.Read More →
-
Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) British painter, decorative glass designer and writer
Sigmund Pollitzer (1913 – 1983) was a painter, decorative glass designer, and writer from the United Kingdom. He was born in the city of London.Read More →
-
OMK Design and Rodney Kinsman RDI
OMK Design is a British design group. It was established in 1966 by Rodney Kinsman, Jerzy Olejnik, Bryan Morrison. They all trained at the London Central School of Arts and Crafts. The group produced its furniture, including its 1969 T5 chair.Read More →
-
Eclipse Minimalist Lighting from Lee Broom
Eclipse Minimalist Lighting from Lee Broom. One of four new lighting collections to be launched during Salone del Mobile (2018). Read MORERead More →
-
Georgina von Etzdorf: A British Design Icon
Georgina von Etzdorf is a British designer known for her exclusive prints in various media, specializing in textile, fashion, furniture, and product design. Her career took off in the 1980s, from printing designs in her parents’ garage to establishing a shop in London’s prestigious Burlington Arcade. Von Etzdorf’s training in traditional craft techniques and her…
-
Rachel Heritage (b.1958), British Industrial Designer
Rachel Heritage is a British industrial designer known for her work in furniture and lighting design. Born in 1958 in London, she studied furniture design at Kingston Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art. In 1985, she co-founded Heritage Design in London with her brother Paul Heritage. Rachel has showcased her designs at exhibitions in…
-
Hans Coper: Revitalising Ceramic Art in England
Explore the life and artistic contributions of Hans Coper, the British ceramicist who played a pivotal role in renewing ceramic art in England. Discover his unique style, international exhibitions, and lasting impact on the field, inspiring a new generation of ceramic artists.Read More →
-
Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) Russian-British Modernist Designer
Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) was a Russian-British modernist designer. He was a Russian emigre who came to London via the October Revolution of 1917. Read More →
-
British Art Pottery Manufacturer – Moorcroft
William Moorcroft started Moorcroft, a British art pottery manufacturer, in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in 1913.Read More →
-
Geoffrey Harcourt (b.1935) British Furniture Designer
Between 1960-61, he worked at Latham, Tyler and Jensen, Chicago, and with Jacob Jensen in Copenhagen; in 1961, opened his studio in London, specialising in furniture design; from 1962; began designing seating for Artifort, the Netherlands, who produced more than 20 models of his furniture designsRead More →
-
Neville Brody (b.1957) British Art Director
Neville Brody rose to prominence during the early 1980s surge of “designerism”: a period when the British economy was considered to be expanding, marketing, promotion, and “cultural entrepreneurship” were in the air, and young culture was a money-spinner.Read More →
-
Robert Radford Welch: A Visionary British Product Designer and Silversmith
Robert Radford Welch was a British product designer and silversmith known for his innovative stainless-steel designs. His career began with studies in painting and silversmithing, culminating in specialized training at the Royal College of Art. Welch established his own workshop in Chipping Campden, where he continued the tradition of the Arts and Crafts movement. Influenced…
-
British Designer Jack Pritchard (1899 – 1992): A Profile
Jack Pritchard was one of the most prominent designers in Britain during the 20th century, creating iconic pieces like the bentwood dining table and the Penguin Donkey that can be found in top museums around the world today. Find out more about Jack Pritchard’s life and career by reading this profile of one of Britain’s…
-
John Adams (1882 – 1953) British Ceramicist and Designer
British Ceramicist John Adams (1882 – 1953) was a British ceramicist and Designer. He was professionally active in London, Durban,Read More →
-
British Ceramics, 1675-1825: The Mint Museum (Hardcover)
With over two thousand objects, the Mint Museum’s collection of British ceramics is one of the best and most extensive in the United States. It includes items from all major manufacturing centres, including Wedgwood, Chelsea, Worcester, and Staffordshire. Read More →
-
Gertrude Hermes (1902 – 1983) British Illustrator, Sculptor & Designer
Gertrude Anna Bertha Hermes was born in Bickley, Kent, on August 18, 1901. Louis August Hermes and Helene, née Gerdes, were from Altena, Germany, near Dortmund. She attended the Beckenham School of Art in around 1921. She then enrolled in Leon Underwood’s Brook Green School of Painting and Sculpture in 1922, where she met Eileen…
-
Frederick Hurten Rhead (1880 – 1942) British Ceramicist
Frederick Hurten Rhead was an English-born American potter and ceramic artist. He was born into a family of potters and designers. He received his English pottery training before moving to the United States in 1902. Read More →
-
Josiah Wedgwood British Ceramics Manufacturer
He started by producing basic tableware, but by 1759, he had expanded to include beautiful items like classical vases and portrait busts. He was one of the first producers to hire artists to create product designs.Read More →
-
Aubrey Beardsley (1872 – 1898) – the dandy of the grotesque
The impact of Beardsley, considered the greatest illustrator of the Art Noveau period, is due solely to his erotic imagination and marvellous control of line drawing.Read More →
-
Bernard Instone: Master Silversmith and Enameller (1891-1987)
British silversmith Bernard Instone, born in 1891, revolutionized jewelry design with his enameled silver work, blending traditional techniques with individual creativity. His legacy continues to inspire artisans today.Read More →
-
Robert Yorke Goodden (1909-2002) British Architect Designer
He was in private practice since 1932. Wallpapers, domestic machine-pressed glassware for Chance Bros., 1953 coronation hangings for Westminster Abbey, gold and silverwares, ceremonial metalwork, glassware for King’s College, Cambridge, 1961 metal-foil murals for the oceanliner Canberra, engraved and sandblasted glass murals for Pilkington. Read More →
-
Evelyn Wyld (1882 – 1973) British Designer textiles and rugs
Evelyn Wyld (1882 – 1972) was a British designer who was born in 1882. She studied at the Royal College of Music, London. Read More →
-
Edward Spenser (1872 – 1938) British metalworker
Edward Spenser (1872 – 1938) was a British metalworker, silversmith, and jeweller. He was professionally active in London. Spencer was a junior designer at the Artificers’ Guild. When Montague Fordham took over the Guild in 1903, Spenser became chief designer. Read More →
-
Ernest Gimson (1864 – 1919) British architect and designer
Ernest Grimson (1864 – 1919) was a British architect and designer. He was born in Leicester.Read More →
-
Ross Lovegrove ( b.1958) British Furniture and Product Designer
Lovegrove is a versatile designer who regularly draws inspiration from nature’s range of forms, as evidenced by his gently curved Lloyd Loom chaises longues, which combine sensuality and ergonomics.Read More →
-
Bruce J. Talbert (1838 – 1881) Scottish architect and designer
Bruce J. Talbert (1838-1881) was a British architect and designer. He was born in Dundee, Scotland. He was apprenticed to cabinet-carver Millar and subsequently to Charles Edwards, an architect in Dundee, who worked on the Corn Exchange Hall. Read More →
-
Christian Barman (1898–1980) British industrial designer
Christian Barman was a key first-generation British industrial designer during the interwar years. He is best known for his 1936 electric iron for HMV, which he started designing in 1933. He studied architecture at Liverpool University and ran his practice until Frank Pick invited him to join London Transport as a Publicity Officer in 1935.Read…
-
Nigel Coates (b.1949) English architect and designer
He co-founded Branson Coates Architecture with Doug Branson in 1985 before opening his architecture and design studio in 2006. He was a partner in the Branson Coates architecture and design studio and the founder of the radical NATO (Narrative Architecture Today, established in London in 1983) design group (established in 1985).Read More →
-
John Makepeace (b.1939), British Furniture Designer
He started designing furniture in 1961. In 1964, he set up a workshop in Farnsborough Barn, Banbury, moving in 1976 to Parnham House in Dorset. He established the Parnham Trust and School for Craftsmen in Wood in 1977.Read More →
-
Lucie Rie (1902 – 1995) the Genius British Ceramicist
Lucie Rie (1902 – 1995) was an Austrian-born British ceramicist. Between 1922-26, she studied fine art, at Kunstgewerbeschule, Vienna, under Michael Powolny. Read More →
-
Ernest Race (1913 – 1964) British furniture and industrial designer
Ernest Race (1913 – 1964) was a British furniture and industrial designer. He was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Between 1932-35, he studied interior design at the Bartlett School of Architecture of London University and 1937-39, weaving in India. Read More →
-
Alison Milner – British Designer in Eclectic Materials
Her aesthetic is clean and clear – reducing, simplifying and uncovering underlying patterns. She prefers to inject gentle humour, visual poetry, narrative and a sense of place into her work.Read More →
-
Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980) British interior designer
The house he occupied until 1945 at Ashcombe, Wiltshire, near friend Edith Olivier was decorated with limited funds using exaggerated baroque furniture. The walls of the ‘Circus Bedroom’ were painted by visiting artist friends, including Rex Whistler and Oliver Messel, in a kind of Surrealistic overstatement.Read More →
-
Susie Cooper (1902 – 1995) British ceramicist and designer
Breakfast in an American middle-class home in the 1940s was often served on dishes designed by English designer Susie Cooper (1902-1995).Read More →
-
Claude Flight( 1881 – 1955) British artist and decorator
Flight is best known for establishing the linocut method of printmaking. He felt by promoting the use of cheap and easily obtained new material. He was making it possible for the masses to be exposed to art. He saw in it the potentiality of a truly democratic art form.Read More →
-
Concorde a design classic
Concorde was developed jointly by British Airways and Air France. Concorde was the first and remained the only supersonic civilian aircraft to be put into commercial service. Read More →
-
Design Classic – Kodax ‘Brownie’ 44a Camera 1960
In the early 1960s, this camera was made. It was simple to load and hold and relatively light, and it was exceptionally well constructed for such a low-cost item. Read More →
-
Serge Ivan Chermayeff (1900 – 1996) – Russian designer
Serge Ivan Chermayeff was a Russian architect and designer who was active in Britain and the US in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Serge Ivan Chermayeff was a Russian-born British architect, industrial designer and writer who pioneered Modern industrial design and collaborated with Erich Mendelsohn. Chermayeff designed textiles, interiors, and exhibitions and painted, collaborating with…
-
George Sheringham (1884 – 1937) British Interior designer
He was born in London and had a brother, Hugh, an Angling Editor of The Field. He attended the King’s School, Gloucester, the Slade School of Fine Art (1899–1901), and the Sorbonne, Paris (1904–1906).Read More →
-
Elizabeth Peacock (1880 – 1969) British textile designer
She was best known for the eight banners commissioned by Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst for the Great Hall in Dartington between 1934 and 1938. She was a spinner, dyer, and weaver and an outstanding teacher from 1940 until 1957.Read More →
-
The Impact of Alan Fletcher on British Graphic Design
Alan Fletcher was a highly regarded British graphic designer who worked for IBM, Fortune magazine, and the Container Corporation of America. Fletcher was interested in visual ambiguity and added value, investing solutions with visual surprise and wit.Read More →
-
Enid Crystal Dorothy Marx (1902 – 1998) British textile and graphic designer
Designs for London Underground seats. She studied painting and wood engraving at the Royal College of Art in London, as well as at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.Read More →
-
John Fowler (1906 – 1977) British Interior Decorator
John Fowler was a British interior decorator known for his elegant and sophisticated style and worked on many high-profile projects, including the Queen’s private apartments at Buckingham Palace. Fowler’s style, scholarly eye, and recognition made him a valuable asset to the National Trust, inspiring conservationists today.Read More →
-
Things of Beauty Growing: British Studio Pottery (hardcover)
British potters have revitalized traditional ceramic forms for nearly a century by creating or reinventing techniques, materials, and display methods. Things of Beauty Growing delves into the primary vessel typologies that have defined studio ceramics from the early twentieth century, such as bowls, vases, and chargers. Read More →
-
Walter Crane (1845 – 1915) British designer, artist and writer
Walter Crane (1845 – 1915) was a British designer, artist and writer. He designed textiles, stained glass, wallpaper, and ceramics as a strong proponent of the Arts and Crafts Movement. His books were available in both original and pirated copies in the U.S. Crane designed stained glass, tiles, wallpapers, embroideries, textiles, mosaics and decorative plasterwork.Read…
-
Ambrose Heal (1872 – 1959) British Furniture Designer
Ambrose Heal (1872–1959) was a British furniture designer known for his simple and functional designs inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and was a member of the Art-Workers’ Guild. He adopted the more fashionable Modern approach to furniture, following the style of his designers J.F.…
-
Alastair J.F. Morton (1910 – 1963) British textile Manufacturer
Morton joined his family’s Morton Sundour Fabrics in 1931 and oversaw the company’s first screen-printed fabrics. He was the artistic director and principal designer of Edinburgh Weavers in Carlisle, which was established in 1928 as Morton Sundour’s creative design unit from 1932 to 1935. From the 1930s, he was a supporter of the Modern movement,…
-
Eric Ravilious (1903 – 1942) British wood engraver & ceramicist
Eric William Ravilious was a British painter, designer, book illustrator and wood-engraver. He is particularly known for his watercolours of the South Downs and other English landscapes. He served as a war artist, and was the first British war artist to die on active service in World War II. Ravilious studied with Edward Bawden and…
-
Jacqueline Groag (1903 – 1986) Czech textile designer
Jacqueline Groag (1903 – 1986) was a Czech textile designer and ceramicist. Born in Prague she studied in Vienna at the Kunstgewerbeschule during the 1920s. In 1937 she moved to Paris where she designed dress prints for Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiparelli and others.Read More →
-
Peter Murdoch (b.1940) British furniture, industrial designer
Peter Murdoch (b.1940) is a British furniture, interior, graphic, and industrial designer.Read More →
-
Jasper Morrison (b.1959) – British Designer, quirky, understated furniture
Morrison produced quirky, satiric, understated furniture. His 1986 South Kensington flat was widely published in design magazines. He designed 1988 Door handles I and II, and a 1989 range of aluminium handles produced by FSB in Germany. Read More →
-
Sebastian Bergne (b. 1966) – English / Italian industrial designer
The phrase ‘less is more’ perfectly encapsulates the core of these works, the quality of which can only be attained by a proper understanding of form.Read More →
-
Lucienne Day (1917 – 2010), influential 🇬🇧 textile designer
Lucienne Day was one of the most influential post-war British textile designers. She developed a unique style of pattern making. Read More →
-
William Blenko (1854 – 1926) and Blenko Glass
Blenko established the first American factory to produce sheet glass for stained glass windows. Blenko’s early successes include providing glass for St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The White House has a collection of Blenko table ware, used periodically. Wayne Husted pioneered the concept of “architectural scale” designs. Blenko’s “Historic Period” begins with Anderson…
-
Revolutionary Style: Dame Mary Quant and the Iconic Swinging Sixties Fashion Movement
Mary Quant, a pivotal figure in British fashion design, studied art and design at Goldsmiths College of Art from 1952 to 1955 while also taking evening classes in clothing construction and cutting. In 1955, in Knightsbridge, London, she established her first shop Bazaar on King’s Road, followed by the second shop Terence Conran designed in…
-
Hattie Stewart’s doodle-bombing
Hattie Stewart is a London-based painter and illustrator. Her tongue-in-cheek artwork glides smoothly between various creative sectors, including Fashion, Music, and Contemporary Art, despite the fact that she is best known for ‘doodlebombing’ over influential Magazines.Read More →
-
Henry Cole (1808 – 1882) British design education leader
Henry Cole was a significant force in 19th-century British design education, emphasising its importance to industry. He was also instrumental in the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the founding of the Journal of Design.Read More →
-
Laura Ashley (1926 – 1988) British fabric and fashion designer
Laura Ashley was one of the first British designers to experiment with the concept of lifestyle marketing. Her romantic vision of nineteenth-century rural life, adapted to modern domestic realities, inspired a generation of middle-class Britons who returned to country life in the 1960s and 1970s. LEARN MORERead More →
-
Minnie Macleish (1876 – 1957 ) British textile designer
She collaborated with Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Constance Irving at London’s Foxton textiles and Amsterdam’s Metz store. Macleish was a prolific designer during the 1920s and 1930s, creating patterns for Morton Sundour fabrics.Read More →
-
Royal Designer for Industry – high-quality industrial design
The British Royal Society of Arts (RSA) established the Royal Designer for Industry designation in 1936 to encourage high-quality industrial design and elevate the reputation of designers. It is given to persons who have demonstrated “consistent excellence in beautiful and efficient industrial design.”Read More →
-
Clyne Farquharson (1906 – 1978) British glassware designer
In the 1930s, Farquharson was a major contributor to the design of British glassware. His documented career in glass began in 1935 with Arches, an engraved design on glass produced by John Walsh Walsh, where he produced other cut-crystal glassware as its head designer 1935—51. Read More →
-
Brian Anthony Asquith (1930 – 2008) British silversmith
Brian Asquith (1930 – 2008) was one of the principal figures in British silversmithing during the 20th century, now regarded as the industry’s heroic age. Read More →
-
John Ruskin (1819 – 1900) British social critic and writer.
John Ruskin (1819 – 1900) was a British social critic and writer. His influential books The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849) and The Stones of Venice (1851—53) show his interest in architecture, particularly the Gothic style. Read More →
-
Zandra Rhodes (b.1940), British fashion and textile designer
Zandra Rhodes studied lithography and printing at Medway College before going on to the Royal College of Art to study textiles, graduating in 1964 during the height of the pop movement. She made a paper wedding dress that cost less than two shillings, motivated by this trend and the work of painter Roy Lichtenstein in…
-
David Mellor (1930 – 2009) British metalworker and manufacturer
Mellor specialised in metalwork, especially cutlery, and was regarded as one of Britain’s most well-known designers. He also built bus shelters and the traffic light system that is currently in operation throughout the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies, and British Overseas Territories.Read More →
-
Narrative Architecture (Architectural Design Primer) 1st Edition, Kindle Edition
Many architects have used the word “narrative” to describe their work since the early 1980s. The enduring appeal of narrative to architects is that it provides a means of interacting with how a city feels and functions. Read More →
-
George Sowden – British/Italian Designer
George James Sowden is a British designer. He was born in Leeds and active Italy. Between 1960-64 and 1966-68, he studied architecture, Gloucester College of Arts. Read More →
-
The HMV Electric Convector Heater by Christian Barman
Christian Barman’s 1934 HMV Electric Convector Heater is a classic example of Streamline Modern design. The heater’s stepped parabolic curves are both functional and beautiful. Even though it isn’t streamlined in the strictest sense, it still has the look of modern design.Read More →
-
Jaeger 🏴 clothes are not just fashion but function & lifestyle
During the twentieth century, a movement arose that advocated for clothing to be worn as part of a sensible, healthy lifestyle rather than only for fashion. These concepts sprang from the work of nineteenth-century fashion reformers, in the same way, that English writer Edward Carpenter popularised the open-toed leather sandal for men. Read More →
-
Michael Cardew (1901 – 1983) British Ceramicist
He learned to throw pottery from William Fishley Holland at the Braunton Pottery, North Devon, 1921—22. In 1923, he met Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada at St. Ives.Read More →
-
Selwyn Image (1849- 1930) British Priest, Artist, Designer
In 1873, Image was ordained a priest in the Church of England. From 1882, he was associated with A.H. Mackmurdo in forming the Century Guild and designed the first issue (1884) of the Guild’s publication, The Hobby Horse. Read More →
-
Unit One avant-garde 🇬🇧 group of architects, designers, 🎨 artists
Unit One was a British avant-garde community of architects and fine artists were created by designer, artist, and teacher Paul Nash to encourage Modernism in art and architecture in England. Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Ben Nicholson were among the group’s most prominent members, as were the architects’ Wells Coates and Colin Lucas. Read More…
-
Frank Brangwyn (1867 – 1956) British Artist and Designer
From 1882, through his friendship with Arthur H. Mackmurdo, he worked as a draftsman and designed tapestries for William Morris; in 1885, he rented a studio and showed his work for the first time at the Royal Academy; in 1895, he executed murals for the entrance of and a frieze in Siegfried Bing’s shop L’Art…
-
Kenneth Grange (b.1929) British Industrial Designer
He was influenced by the sculptural simplicity of German postwar design, such as that of Braun. He redesigned products for Kenwood, including their food mixer. Read More →
-
Laura Knight (1877 – 1970) British Painter and Ceramicist
She was a juror of the 1922 Carnegie International competition, Pittsburgh. She designed both the shapes and the decorations for the 1933—34 Circus range of tableware produced by Arthur J. Wilkinson, Burslem, under Clarice Cliff’s supervision.Read More →
-
Roger Fry (1866 – 1934) British painter, writer, art critic and designer
Roger Fry was a British painter, writer, art critic, designer, and lecturer. He was born in London. Between 1885 – 1890, he studied natural sciences, Cambridge University, and Académie Julian, Paris, 1892. Read More →
-
Peter McCulloch (b.1933) British textile designer
In the early 1960s, he taught at the Falmouth School of Art in Cornwall. Some of his textiles incorporated contrasting colors in small dots suggesting printed circuitry, as in his 1963 Cruachan fabric produced by Hull Traders.Read More →
-
The Art of Zandra Rhodes (Hardcover) 1995
Zandra Rhodes is known for her creativity and talent worldwide, and it is images and impressions from all around the world that has so often inspired her art. Images have met her eye and been interpreted through her own very personal vision, boldly pushing their way into the highest levels of fashion, from an aerial…
-
Edward Taylor (1838 – 1912) and Ruskin Pottery
While it was prone to cynicism in the 20th century – for example, it was often pointed out that Morris’ handmade goods were too costly for anyone other than the wealthy he claimed to despise. However, through a fertile and now highly valued time of applied art, the Arts & Crafts wove a distinctive pattern.Read…
-
David Lewis (1939 – 2011) British/Danish Industrial Designer
David Lewis was a British industrial designer. He is best known for his work for Bang & Olufsen. He was a distinguished member of Royal Designers for Industry. Read More →
-
Sardine Collector’s Cabinet by Michael Marriot
This humorous, simple, and elegant approach proposed a different design agenda, harkening back to Victor Papanek and the Whole Earth Catalogue in the 1960s.Read More →
-
Harold Stabler (1872 – 1945) British ceramicist, enameller, jeweller and silversmith
Harold Stabler’s lengthy, illustrious career began in the Arts and Crafts movement and extended into the modernist era. Over the 50 years or so he devoted to the arts, he created an astounding diversity of highly regarded pieces, both unique and mass-produced, in various mediums and styles. Read More →
-
Sir Terence Conran (1931 – 2020), British Interior Designer
From cl950, he worked for Rayon Centre, London, and, 1951— 52, as an interior designer for Dennis Lennon; designed 1955 ‘The Orrery’ coffee-bar, London in the late 1950s, as a freelance designer. Read More →
-
Abram Games (1914 – 1996) British graphic and industrial designer
In acknowledging his power as a propagandist, he claimed, “I wind the spring and the public, in looking at the poster, will have that spring released in its mind.” Read More →
-
Gordon Russell (1892 – 1980) British furniture maker and designer
He began working at his father’s modest antiques restoration workshop in 1908, where he learned various crafts and oversaw repairs. In 1910, he began designing furniture. After World War I, he manufactured furniture in the style of Ernest Gimson. Read More →
-
Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949) Scottish illustrator of children’s books
Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949) was a well-known Scottish illustrator who specialised in children’s books. She also painted pottery and crafted bookplates, jewellery, and fabric. King was a member of the Glasgow Girls, a collective of female artists.Read More →
-
Allan Walton (1891 – 1948) British painter, decorator, architect and textile designer
He commissioned some of the most innovative screen prints of the 1930s, designed by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, as a principle of Allan Walton Fabrics. Read More →
-
William Caxton (1422 – 1491) Father of English Printing
William Caxton learned about the mystery of printing in the Low Countries, and it was in Bruges that he translated a French work, ” The Tales of Troy, ” through his printing press.Read More →
-
Caroline Broadhead ( b.1951 ) British Jewellery Designer
She used coloured ivory in her early work. In 1977, she started producing necklaces with bound thread. In 1978, she designed a wood- or silver-framed bracelet with tufts of nylon through which the hand could be squeezed; she was a leader in the new jewellery movement that began in 1968, and she used plastic, cloth,…
-
Barbara Hepworth (1903 – 1975) British Sculptor & Designer
In 1926, she settled in London. Between 1929-39, she lived in Hampstead; from 1931, she worked with Ben Nicholson. 1931—35, was a member of the Seven by Five Society, London. In 1933, she became a member of Abstraction-Création, Paris; Read More →
-
Michael Peters (b. 1941) British Graphic Designer
The 1980s in Britain were marked by an apparent economic rebound and a newfound enthusiasm among Britons for business, risky capitalism, and design. Design was pushed as a fundamental ingredient to financial success by a new generation of design entrepreneurs, one of them being Michael Peters.Read More →
-
Theo Moorman (1907 – 1990) British Weaver and Designer
Theo Moorman was a devoted artist with a lifetime of experience. She created her technique over a wide range of designs and textural combinations, exploring its potential. A new invention was every piece of work, and they were always full of vitality.Read More →
-
Iittala Raami 12-Ounce Glass Bowl, Sea Blue, by Jasper Morrison
Raami, designed by Jasper Morrison, adds a touch of effortless beauty to any space. Simple, adaptable, and high-quality tableware is framed by careful design that allows the room to take on its own personality. Breakfast, desserts, and cold meals go well in this sea blue Raami bowl. Finland-made pressed glass.Read More →
-
Handlebar Table (1982) by Jasper Morrison
The Handlebar Table (1982) was a table with aluminium handlebars, chrome steel connectors, beechwood support and plate glass top.Read More →
-
MARS (Modern Architectural Research Group) (1933 – 1957)
The MARS Group, or Modern Architectural Research Group, was a British architectural think tank created in 1933 by numerous famous architects and architectural critics participating in the British modernist movement. The MARS Group was created after several prior but unsuccessful attempts to establish an organization to promote modernist architects in the United Kingdom, similar to…
-
Owen Jones (1809-1874) British architect & Designer
Owen Jones was a British architect and ornamental designer. He studied at the Royal Academy in London and under the architect L. Vuillamy (1825–31).Read More →
-
Perry King (b. 1938 ) British industrial, graphic and product designer
He worked at Olivetti, where he designed office machinery, starting in 1956. He collaborated with Hans Von Klier on C. Castelli’s corporate design program. He was designing dictating machines for Süd-Atlas Werke in Monaco and electronic apparatus and control systems for Praxis in Milan.Read More →
-
Beautiful Butterfly & Moth Illustrations from Dru Drury 1837
Dru Drury (4 February 1724 – 15 December 1803) was a British collector of natural history specimens and an entomologist. He had samples collected from across the world through a network of ship’s officers and collectors, including Henry Smeathman. Read More →
-
John Aldridge (1905 – 1983) – British oil painter, draughtsman, wallpaper designer
John Aldridge was an oil painter, draughtsman, wallpaper designer, and art teacher from the United Kingdom.Read More →
-
Stanley Morison (1889-1967) – Designer of Times New Roman typeface
Stanley Morison, widely regarded as one of the most influential typographic designers of the twentieth century, was drawn to the subject by his passionate interest. Early on, he worked for several publishers and printing houses, including Francis Meynell’s Pelican Press and the Cloister Press. Read More →
You may also be interested in
Edward Bawden British painter, illustrator and graphic designer – Encyclopedia of Design
Edward Bawden was a British painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Bawden studied at the Cambridge School of Art from 1919 to 1922 and at the Royal College of Art from 1922 to 1925, where Paul Nash was one of his teachers and Eric Ravilious was a close friend.
Jasper Morrison British Designer quirky, understated furniture – Encyclopedia of Design
Jasper Morrison is a British designer, and he was born and active in London. Between 1979-82 he studied at the Kingston School of Art and Design. Between 1982-85, Royal College of Art, London. Morrison produced quirky, satiric, understated furniture. His 1986 South Kensington flat was widely published in design magazines.
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
- Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
- Click to print (Opens in new window)