2001 WILLIAM MORRIS EVENTS IN THE UNITED STATES To 3 January 2001 The Defining Moment: Victorian Narrative Paintings from the Forbes Magazine Collection Exhibition at Delaware Art Museum. Fifty paintings from the Forbes Magazine collection, assembled by Christopher Forbes in the landmark Old Battersea House, London. These pictures, many of which were shown at the Royal Academy, explore the 19th century British predilection for narrative paintings. This skilled group of Victorian artists includes the Pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais and Royal Academicians William Powell Frith and James J. Tissot. Contact: Delaware Art Museum, Tel. (302) 571-9590, www.delart.mus.de.us. To 7 January 2001 Ruskin's Italy, Ruskin's England Exhibition at the Morgan Library, New York. This yearmarks the centenary of the death of one of the most influential figures of the ]Victorian age, John Ruskin (1819&endash;1900). The Morgan Library, which houses one of the world's most comprehensive Ruskin collections, will commemorate the occasion with an exhibition of drawings, watercolors, manuscripts, and books drawn primarily from its holdings of materials by Ruskin and his contemporaries. As an artist, art critic, and social commentator, Ruskin produced an enormous and varied body of work. His ideas about art, architecture, and society, expressed with remarkable passion and eloquence, are enduring legacies. Among the highlights of the exhibition are Ruskin's original manuscripts of his two most important works, The Stones of Venice (1851&endash;53) and Modern Painters (1843&endash;60), his commissioned photographs as well as his own drawings for Stones, his Self-Portrait, in Blue Neckcloth (1873), John Everett Millais's portrait of him (1854), J. M. W. Turner's watercolor The Pass at Faido, St. Gotthard (Thaw Collection; 1843), and works of other artists whom he championed. Manuscripts and printed editions of The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1848), Praeterita (1885&endash;89), The Storm-Cloud of the Nineteenth Century (1884), and other works also are included. Selections from the Library's comprehensive collection of Ruskin correspondence and artifacts will touch upon important biographical details, including his religious upbringing, his mentoring of the illustrator Kate Greenaway and other artists, his unconsummated marriage to Euphemia ("Effie") Chalmers Gray, which ended, after six years, when she left him for John Everett Millais, and his recurrent emotional breakdowns. Contact: Robert Parks, Pierpont Morgan Library, 29 East 36th Street, New York, NY 10016; Tel. (212) 685-0008, fax (212) 685-4740. 22 January 2001 Sotheby's Sale of Judd Pottery Collection On January 22, 2001 Sotheby’s in New York will offer for sale the Harriman Judd Collection of British Art Pottery, the finest, most comprehensive collection of this type ever to come up for auction. Taken from the California home of the late Allen Harriman and Edward Judd the sale includes 800 lots of British Art Pottery, Studio Pottery and Majolica with estimates ranging from $200-$80,000. See http://www.sothebys.com for further information. Doulton Art Pottery The wares of this pottery are the most numerous in the Harriman Judd Collection. There are representative pieces of all the types and styles of ware ever produced by the pottery, but the largest selection is concentrated on the wares produced at the Lambeth Art Pottery under some of the leading designers who worked there. The Doulton Art Pottery was established following a liaison between the commercial stoneware manufacturer Doulton & Co. and a local school of art established in Lambeth, which was taken charge of by John Sparkes in 1856. William de Morgan William de Morgan came to ceramics almost by accident, while experimenting to reproduce, on ceramics, an iridescent effect found on glass. Through his experiments he succeeded in perfecting a lustrous surface decoration as well as a method of faience decoration. De Morgan’s accomplishments of rediscovering lustre techniques not used for centuries was quite outstanding and won him high praise, and his pieces with wonderfully bold Persian inspired patterns were frequently exhibited. His use of two or three layers of lustre created some spectacular designs, such as on the large lustre charger lavishly decorate in ruby lustre with whimsical fish included in the Harriman Judd Collection, which measures 20 ½ inches in diameter and is estimated at $5/8,000. To 28 January 2001 Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 Exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Wahsington, DC. Approximately 350 works will explore one of the most exuberant and visually appealing styles in modern art, which flourished throughout Europe and in major American cities from about 1890 to the First World War. Opening with a selection of about thirty international art nouveau masterpieces that were displayed at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, the exhibition will explore the sources of art nouveau and examine its interpretations in eight European and American cities. Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 has been organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in association with the National Gallery of Art. The exhibition will travel to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 21 April - 8 July 2001. 2-5 February 2001 Oscar Wilde and His Times: A Centenary Celebration Events in Madison, WI. Include film screenings and readings and time to view the "Flights of Fancy" exhibition (see below). Saturday, 3 February, Symposium on "Art and the Individual: Decadence and Democracy in the Modern Age" features presentations by Margaret Diane Stetz (Georgetown University, on "Oscar Wilde and Women"), Susan Brantly (UW-Madison, on "The Wildes of Scandinavia: A Survey of Nordic Decadence"), Linda Zatlin (Morehouse College, on "Aubrey Beardsley and the Origins of Art Nouveau"). The next day, Mark Samuels Lasner will speak on "The Pursuit of the Rare: Three Early Beardsley Collectors" as part of an afternoon tribute to Nelson's scholarship, mentoring, and collecting. Finally, on Monday, 5 February, Wilde's grandson, Merlin Holland, author of The Wilde Album and co-editor of The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde, will give a special lecture, "Confounding the Critics, Surviving the Scandal: The Remarkable Reputation of Oscar Wilde." All of these events are free and open to the public. More information: www.Oscar100.20m.com/madison.htm, or send e-mail to montyreeves@hotmail.com. 11 February - 6 May 2001 Rossetti in the 1860s: The Blue Bower WILIAMSTOWN, MA. Exhibition at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. In the 1860s, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in England, turned from biblical and legendary subjects to images that would define his reputation: half-length allegorical portraits of beautiful women. The Blue Bower is at the center of this exhibition, which focuses on a great suite of Rossetti's famous "stunners," depictions of his favored models that epitomize paradoxical Victorian views of womanhood. Also included in this exhibition are works by Rossetti's contemporaries, who explored ideas in which Rossetti was interested, including the notion of the femme fatale and the connection between art and music. This exhibition is organized by the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, the University of Birmingham, England. For more information on this exhibit, please visit the exhibit website. Info: Clark Art Institute, 225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267, 413.458.2303. 14 Feb - 6 May 2001 The Enchanted Web - William Holman Hunt's The Lady of Shalott One of the most renowned of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings, William Holman Hunt's The Lady of Shalott will be on view at the Chrysler Museum of Art from February 14 through May 6, 2001. Drawn from the distinguished collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, Hunt's monumental, dreamlike canvas is sure to captivate the community of Hampton Roads and its audiences. The magnificent image depicts the culminating moment in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous poem of the same title, which recounts a tale inspired by Arthurian legend. Sequestered in her tower, the fair Lady of Shalott is forbidden by a curse to look directly out her window, but instead must view the world reflected through a mirror - a reflection she then weaves into a "web" on her loom. But when Sir Lancelot rides into view, she rebels and gazes out the window at the handsome knight, whereupon the curse is fulfilled and her world destroyed: Out flew the web and floated wide; The mirror cracked from side to side; 'The curse is come upon me,' cried The Lady of Shalott. The Museum secured the loan of Hunt's impressive picture through a reciprocal arrangement with the Wadsworth Museum, which requested the Chrysler's The Loss of Virginity by Paul Gauguin for temporary exhibition in Hartford and generously agreed to lend The Lady of Shalott in return. Once again, the Museum's excellent Permanent Collection has prompted a cooperative exchange of masterpieces, one that will enrich the experience of visitors both here and in Hartford. For More Information or Images, please contact the Public Relations Department at (757)333-6295 or bdyer@chrysler.org http://www.chrysler.org/Lady_of_Shalott.html To 15 February 2001 Flights of Fancy: The Decorated Books of Oscar Wilde and His Circle from the James G. Nelson Collection. Exhibition at Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. Focuses on three London publishing houses of the 1890s: The Bodley Head, Elkin Mathews, and Leonard Smithers. Through unusual and rare books, the exhibit illustrates the aesthetic and cultural milieu from which significant literary and artistic achievements of the late Victorian period emerged, leading to the rise of modern literature. The works of Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, and many writers, book designers, and illustrators are featured along with some early editions of W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and William Carlos Williams. Special Collections, 976 Memorial Library, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact: Editorial Office, UW-Madison Libraries, 330C Memorial Library, 728 State Street, Madison, WI 53706, Tel. (608) 262-0076, djohnson@library.wisc.edu. 15-17 March 2001 Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers Conference The annual conference on Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers will hold its ninth meeting March 15-17, 2001 at the Holiday Inn Holidome, Lawrence, Kansas. The theme of this year's conference will be "Revising Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Approaches to British Women Writers." The conference is devoted to expanding the literary canon and to developing critical and theoretical understandings of women's writing traditiosn in literary, medical, political, legal, religious, and scientific discourses. We are proud to welcome Donna Landry, Susan S. Lanser, and Judith R.Walkowitz as this year's keynote speakers. Inquries handled by BWWC Department of English 3116 Wescoe Hall University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045-2115 or bwwc@raven.cc.ukans.edu 20-21 April 2001 Midwest Victorian Studies Association Conference VICTORIAN ENDINGS is the theme chosen for the Twenty-Fifth Annual Meeting of the Midwest Victorian Studies Association, to be held in Chicago, April 20-21, 2001. This is, of course, an appropriate theme to mark the centenary of Queen Victoria's death, the event which is arguably the most significant of Victorian endings. The conference program reflects the fact that interest in and treatment of endings of various kinds is recurrent throughout the Victorian period (and throughout Victorian studies), and is not just a matter of concern with the death of the Queen. MVSA is an association of scholars representing a range of disciplinary binterests in the culture of Victorian Britain. Inquiries about this conference or MVSA membership, should be directed to: Robert Koepp MVSA Executive Secretary English Department Illinois College Jacksonville, IL 62650 e-mail: rkoepp@hilltop.ic.edu fax: (217) 245-3365 work: (217) 245-3441 31 May-26 July 2001 "The Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain and America." A course offered by New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies program in Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts. Eight class sessions on Thursdays 2-4 p.m., May 31-July 26 (no class June 14) based at the NYU Midtown Center, 11 West 42nd St., with additional field trips to be scheduled. Instructor: James Elliott Benjamin and guest speakers. The course will examine such figures as A. W. N. Pugin, John Ruskin, William Morris, Ernest Gimson, C. R. Ashbee, C. F. A. Voysey, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Frank Lloyd Wright, Greene & Greene, Gustav Stickley, and Elbert Hubbard; consider cross-fertilizations with the Gothic Revival, the Colonial Revival, Japonisme, and Art Nouveau; and explore themes in the cultural and social history of the era. Furniture and interiors, metalwork and jewelry, ceramics and printing, are discussed in class sessions, visits to Craftsman Farms, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, an auction house, gallery, and a private collection. Course no. X03.9618. Tuition: $460 (plus registration fee). Registration: 212-998-7171. Info: 212-998-7080, 212-998-7130. 14-15 September 2001 RETHINKING THE 19TH-CENTURY VICTORIAN PRESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY September 14-15, 2001 The Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY) 365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street), NYC. All students, teachers, and scholars interested in publishing history and the Victorian press are invited to attend. Internationally renowned speakers will be featured. For questions about local arrangements, please contact: Professor Anne Humpherys Ph.D. Program in English Graduate Center City University of New York 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016 Telephone: 212/817-8328 Fax: 212/817-1518 Email: AHumphreys@gc.cuny.edu Conference fee is $120 and includes reception, coffee breaks, and a lunch. Make checks out in American dollars to Anne Humpherys and mail to address above. PLEASE write RSVP registration 2001 on the check memo line. NOTE: no credit cards can be accepted. Information about hotels is available on the RSVP website: http://aztec.asu.edu/rsvp. 19–21 October 2001 Transatlantic Type: Anglo-American Printing in the Ninetenth Century American Printing History Association Twenty-Sixth Annual Conference, Washington University, St. Louis The nineteenth century saw enormous changes in the world of printing. The rise of a mass readership, the invention of machine-driven presses and typesetting, new types of reproduction methods and paper, and movements in taste and design all contributed to an era of intense complexity and development. Yet, despite historical interest over the decades, some aspects of the period have remained largely unstudied. The 2001 American Printing History Association’s annual conference, hosted by Washington University, focuses on one such subject: the relationship between printing in Britain and the United States. It explores transatlantic cross-fertilization of printing practices, technological developments, and typographical and book-making connections (some of them personal), all heightened by increased opportunities for travel and communication. An exciting schedule of events is planned, beginning on Friday, 19 October, with a keynote address on “Cobden-Sanderson in America” (free and open to the public) by Marianne Tidcombe, bookbinding historian and author of a new history of the Doves Press. The conference continues on Saturday, 20 October, with a full day of presentations. Speakers include: Karen Nipps, Senior Rare Book Cataloger, Houghton Library, Harvard University (“The Dialogue Between Britain and America in the Development of Certain Mid 19th-Century Printing Techniques”) William S. Peterson, Professor of English, University of Maryland (“Nineteenth-Century Revivals: Typographical and Spiritual”) Michael Twyman, Professor of Typography, University of Reading (“Transatlantic Cross Currents,” co-sponsored by the Bibliographical Society of America) Ron Tyler, Professor of History at the University of Texas-Austin and Director of the Texas State Historical Association (“Production of the Great Work: John James Audubon, the Havells, and The Birds of America”) Philip Weimerskirch, Special Collections Librarian, Providence Public Library (“Daniel Berkeley Updike and England: Some Little-known Connections”) The day concludes with a visit to Washington University’s renowned Book Illustration Studio and a gala banquet held in one of the University’s historic buildings. Sunday, 21 October, will be devoted to a visit to the Mercantile Library. The conference topic and its location are in part occasioned by the recent acquisition by Washington University Libraries of an exceptional collection of materials relating to the three great British private presses, the Kelmscott, Ashendene, and Doves, all of which started in the 1890s. Highlights from the collection—which was formed by Charles Gould—will be displayed in a major exhibition, “The Triple Crown Abroad: The Kelmscott, Doves, and Ashendene Presses Beyond the British Isles.” Conference attendees may take advantage of these special offers for lodging and travel: Accommodations: Forty rooms have already been reserved for APHA participants at The Hotel Daniele, Clayton, MO, nearby to all conference events (bus service will be provided). Call (800) 325-8302 and request the APHA conference rate of $109.00. Airfare: APHA has an agreement with American Airlines for discounted airfare to St. Louis—5% off the lowest applicable published fare (10% discount for reservations made 60 days in advance of travel). To obtain this discount, call (800) 433-1790 and refer to “Starfile ” A15H1AQ for the American Printing History Association. Registration fee: $60 for APHA members, $75 for nonmembers.There is an additional charge for the Saturday night banquet. For more information visit the APHA website at http://www.printinghistory.org/. Immediate inquiries may be directed to Anne Posega, Head of Special Collections Washington University Libraries, Campus Box 1061 One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130 (314) 935-5487 posega@library.wustl.edu 20 October, 2001 The William Morris Room at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa The William Morris Room will officially be opened on Saturday, October 20, 2001. We will have two speakers--Peter Rose will speak on W. A. S. Benson's relationship to Morris and Company. Peter is a major collector of decorative arts and paintings from the Arts & Crafts Movement; he was formerly head of the Combined Arts at Brighton University and a founder and Chairman of the Decorative Arts Society. Elizabeth Elvin will talk about Morris and Company needlework. She is the Principal of the Royal School of Needlework. The room, one of 40 special rooms in the hotel, contains original and reproduction work by most the partners in Morris & Company. The furniture has been made by Christopher Vickers, a furniture maker from Fromme, Somerset, England. The pieces include two Morris Chairs, several Philip Webb tables, two beds that were modeled on the staircase at Red House, the St. George Cabinet, the Backgammon Cabinet--which was painted by Sonia Demetriou, a desk, and blanket chest. There are two Rossetti chairs, a reproduction Morris and Company carpet, handblocked wallpaper, and several reproduction DeMorgan decorative tiles. The room has one of the largest public collections in the U. S. of original Benson lighting fixtures--three ceiling lamps, one standing lamp, and four table lamps. There are also wonderful needlework pillows from Beth Russell's collections--two of which were adapted especially for this room. The Royal School of Needlework measured and drew-up the two hangings which are replicas of the original Daisy hanging made by William and Jane and now at Kelmscott Manor. They went there to do the measuring, got the proper fabric and threads and then Liz Elvin came over with the two panels and taught people in the area to make them. For more information, please contact Elaine Hirschl Ellis President, Arts & Crafts Tours 110 Riverside Drive, Suite 15-E New York, NY 10024 212 362-0761 fax 212 787-2823 artscraftstours@aol.com 27 October 2001, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Morgan Library Symposium: Oscar Wilde in His Times and Ours Host: Norman Kelvin, Distinguished Professor of English, The City College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York "Oscar Wilde and the Religion of Art." Karl Beckson, Professor of English, Brooklyn College, City University of New York "Wilde, The Grosvenor Gallery, and Aestheticism." Debra N. Mancoff, Art Historian and Scholar in Residence at the Newberry Library "A Lily in His Medieval Hand: Oscar Wilde and Aesthetic Dress Reform." Talia Schaffer, Assistant Professor of English, Queens College City University of New York "Oscar Wilde, Moviestar." Margaret D. Stetz, Associate Professor of English and Women's Studies, Georgetown University "Strauss, Salome, and Mr. Morgan: An Opera Banned." J. Rigbie Turner, Mary Flagler Cary Curator, Music Manuscripts and Books Morgan Library 29 East 36th Street New York, NY 10016 (212) 685-0009 http://www.morganlibrary.org/ This program is co-sponsored by the William Morris Society in the United States. HOME · NEW · EVENTS · NEWSLETTER · SITE ARCHIVE · ABOUT THE SOCIETY MORRIS' LIFE AND WORKS · PRODUCTS · LINKS · SITE MAP · CONTACT US LAST UPDATE 17 AUG 2001 · PLEASE REPORT BROKEN LINKS TO WEBMASTER@MORRISSOCIETY.ORG