The
extensive use of wallpapers, textiles, and rugs by Morris & Co. in the
Glessner house is well documented, and in recent years, many of these items
have been faithfully reproduced and reinstalled. H. H. Richardson, as a major proponent of
Morris & Co. in the United States, certainly influenced the Glessners’
decision to acquire these items for their home.
In this article, however, we will see that Frances Glessner became
well-acquainted with William Morris more than two years before she ever met
Richardson.
Introduction to William Morris
The
earliest mention of Morris in Frances Glessner’s journal occurs on Tuesday March
6, 1883, “I went to the Decorative Art
Society. Wm. Morris and his designs was
the subject – it was very interesting.”
Frances Glessner was an early member of the Chicago Society of
Decorative Art, founded in 1877 “to help impoverished women master the skills
of an honorable trade particularly by training women artists and artisans in
the applied arts.” (The organization survives
today as The Antiquarian Society at the Art Institute of Chicago). It would have been the logical place for her
to learn about Morris and his emerging impact on the decorative arts.
As was
often the case with Frances Glessner, when a topic piqued her interest, she
actively pursued it. Less than a week
later, she noted in her journal, “I am
reading Morris’ Hopes and Fears for Art.” By the following week, she had finished
the book.
Hopes and
Fears for Art
This
volume, published in both the United Kingdom and the United States in 1882, was
a collection of five lectures delivered by Morris in Birmingham, London, and
Nottingham between 1878 and 1881, namely:
-The
Lesser Arts
-The Art
of the People
-The
Beauty of Life
-Making
the Best of it
-The
Prospects of Architecture in Civilization
In the
lectures, Morris states many of his widely known views, including the inherent
value of handicraft, and the evils of industrialization. The fifth chapter, for example, contains
interesting views on architecture and how it relates to the other arts. It also illuminates his thoughts on historic
preservation, not surprising given that he was the founder of the Society for the
Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877.
(That organization led indirectly to the founding of the National
Trust). He opens his lecture on
architecture as follows:
“The word Architecture has, I suppose, to most
of you the meaning of the art of building nobly and ornamentally. Now, I believe the practice of this art to be
one of the most important things which man can turn his hand to, and the
consideration of it to be worth the attention of serious people, not for an
hour only, but for a good part of their lives, even though they may not have to
do with it professionally.
“But, noble as that art is by itself, and though
it is specially the art of civilization, it neither ever has existed nor ever
can exist alive and progressive by itself, but must cherish and be cherished by
all the crafts whereby men make the things which they intend shall be
beautiful, and shall last somewhat beyond the passing day.
“It is this union of the arts, mutually helpful
and harmoniously subordinated one to another, which I have learned to think of
as Architecture.”
John J. McGrath
Before the
month of March 1883 had drawn to a close, Frances Glessner considered the
purchase of Morris products for her summer home at The Rocks, then under
construction. On Friday March 23, she
noted, “I took Mrs. Avery down to McGrath’s
to see Wm. Morris designs in materials for furnishing. We had a delightful morning. I selected a lovely combination for The
Rocks, but it is too expensive.”
Chicago Tribune, February 3, 1883
McGrath’s
was a reference to the wholesale and retail establishments of John J.
McGrath. An article in the Chicago Tribune on January 1, 1883,
noted that his firm sold more paper-hangings than any other firm on the
continent. In addition, a number of
European manufacturers, “recognizing the advantages of Chicago as a
distributing point,” made McGrath’s their exclusive agent in the United States,
thus requiring Eastern buyers to purchase from him.
Although
Frances Glessner did not purchase the Morris & Co. items she admired, she
had been a customer of McGrath’s for several years, purchasing numerous
wallpapers there for her home on West Washington Street.
Later History
Frances
Glessner makes no further mentions of Morris in her journal until February 1887
when she began actively purchasing rugs, textiles and wallpapers for her new
home being built on Prairie Avenue. Many
of these items, including a Hammersmith rug for the main hall, were purchased
through Marshall Field & Co., which by that time, was offering a line of
goods from the English firm.
Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1887
No comments:
Post a Comment