May Morris

May Morris (1862-1938)

Daughter of William Morris, poet, designer, business man  

She studied at the the South Kensington School of Design  (1880-83)

In 1885 she took over responsibility for the Embroidery department at Morris & co (the family business)  until 1896 when the company was sold following her fathers death. 

She designed repeating patterns for the companies textiles and wallpaper.

The arts and crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th century was a great help towards women who had artistic talent and ambition but had difficulty breaking into the male dominated world. It appealed  to women on many different levels; as a hobby or profession.  Although this movement was a  predominantly a male driven, embroidery was one of the movements women could thrive in. Embroidery can cover clothing to household furnishings, a very decorative form and are often unique.

"You see William Morris could design embroideries but he could not embroider [...] Mrs Morris could embroider but couldn't design, Miss Morris could and did both design as well as William Morris and embroider as well as any one possibly could and her colour arrangements were approachable and original [...] This is where Miss Morris excelled and that is what so few grasp and appreciate." - a letter from Mary Lobb (companion of May Morris) to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Her father used a acanthus leaf design to join parts of his pattern together where as May preferred Hedgehog Bryony to fit in with a traditional English countryside model, and often used British birds in her design 

She founded the Women's Guild of Arts in 1907, due to the exclusion of women in the Art Workers' Guild, however many of the documents were lost in WW2 

Women and the decorative Art 1880-1935, the Gender of the Ornament Edited by Brodget Elliot and Janice Helland P35-46