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ARTS  TEXTILES A common thread PL Henderson compares the work of May Morris with Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão Despite being separated by over a century, the textile works created by English artisan Mary ‘May’ Morris (1862–1938) and contemporary Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão have much in common. Not only do these two hugely gifted creators share a focus on inspiration from the infinite beauty of Nature, but both are also driven by specific cultural and ecological values encoded deep into the very fabric of their expression and production. Reaching beyond the splendour of its rich visual appeal, the work of Morris and Barragão is entwined in the complex historical inheritance of a female-centric craft, in parallel with altering perceptions of the natural world. The philosophical debate on human relationships with Nature, in the context of the growing industrialised Victorian society into which Morris was born, was an ever-evolving subject. However, while 19th-century theorists were unleashing wild ‘Mother Nature’ from the constraints of pre-Enlightenment fear and domination, the natures of women were deemed to necessitate extreme socio-economic and cultural control. May Morris embroidering at her home, c. 1920s. Photograph © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest 50 Resurgence & Ecologist January/2020
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Limitations placed on women therefore also set the parameters for the creation and reception of ‘women’s art’. Integral to the devoted homemaker idealised as the ‘Angel in the House’ was an aptitude in needlecrafts. Berlin wool work, with its bright, rigid designs of wreaths and garden flowers, was a typical pursuit, yet it was regarded as a feminine duty rather than skilled female creativity. Morris, who later became an embroiderer, designer, editor and artisan, had some advantage over her female artist peers, however. Her family were central to the more liberal world of the Arts and Crafts movement, which enabled her self-expression to flourish through embroidery skills passed on by her mother Jane, and design work taught by her much-celebrated father William. The movement’s emphasis on a close human relationship to production and traditional domestic skills, which opened a cultural door for female artisans, combined with a socialist, humanitarian perspective and a reverence for the past and Nature, were all embraced by the Morris clan. Above: Maids of Honour. Designed and worked by May Morris c. 1890s Below: Detail of Embroidered cloak. Design by May Morris c. 1897 Both images © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest and courtesy of Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh The exhibition May Morris: Art & Life runs until 14 March 2020 at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh. www.dovecotstudios.com Resurgence & Ecologist 51

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ARTS  TEXTILES

A common thread PL Henderson compares the work of May Morris with Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão

Despite being separated by over a century, the textile works created by English artisan Mary ‘May’ Morris (1862–1938) and contemporary Portuguese artist Vanessa Barragão have much in common. Not only do these two hugely gifted creators share a focus on inspiration from the infinite beauty of Nature, but both are also driven by specific cultural and ecological values encoded deep into the very fabric of their expression and production. Reaching beyond the splendour of its rich visual appeal, the work of Morris and Barragão is entwined in the complex historical inheritance of a female-centric craft, in parallel with altering perceptions of the natural world.

The philosophical debate on human relationships with Nature, in the context of the growing industrialised Victorian society into which Morris was born, was an ever-evolving subject. However, while 19th-century theorists were unleashing wild ‘Mother Nature’ from the constraints of pre-Enlightenment fear and domination, the natures of women were deemed to necessitate extreme socio-economic and cultural control.

May Morris embroidering at her home, c. 1920s. Photograph © William Morris Gallery, London Borough of Waltham Forest

50 Resurgence & Ecologist

January/2020

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