The Arts and crafts movement

The Arts and crafts movement began in Britain around 1880 and quickly spread across America and Europe before emerging into the Mingei (Folk Crafts) movement in Japan. The origins of the movement began in Britain because of the disastrous effects of industrial manufacture which had been recognised since 1840 but it wasn't until the 1860's and 1870's that architects, designers and artists began to create new approaches to design and the decorative arts thus leading to the foundation of the Arts and crafts movement. The movement was born out of ideals and it grew out of concern for the effects of industrialisation such as design, traditional skills and lives of ordinary people trying to make a living who had depended on handmade craftsmanship. The arts and crafts movement had established a new set of principles for living and working and it had turned the home into a work of art.  The Movement took its name from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society which was founded in 1887. The two most influential founding leaders of the Arts and crafts movement were John Ruskin who was a theorist and a critic  and William Morris who was a designer, writer and activist. Ruskin examined the relationship between art, society and labour and Morris put Ruskin's philosophies into practice placing great value on handmade work, the joy of craftsmanship and the natural beauty of the materials used. 

VAM, 2013. Victoria and Albert Museum. [Online] Available at: <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-arts-and-crafts-movement/>

<Accessed 28th April 2013>