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| About the
exhibition
MORRIS & Co. William Morris must be considered one of the greatest pattern designers of all time. His dedication to research was coupled with a passion to test and physically create his own designs. Because of this, Morris & Co. consistently produced outstanding carpets, wallpapers, tapestries, ceramics, embroideries, furniture and textiles. Such is their superior quality that many have survived to the present day and are now highly sought after by art museums and private collectors alike. The Art Gallery of South Australia is fortunate in holding the most comprehensive collection of Morris & Co. furnishings outside Britain. The abundance of material is due to the progressive taste of Adelaide’s wealthy Barr Smith family, members of which extensively furnished seven large houses with Morris & Co. goods from 1884 to 1929. In 1989, Christopher Menz, then Curator of European and Australian Decorative Arts, was given a brief to collect and preserve as much of the family’s Morris & Co. material as possible. Since Christopher’s departure in early 2001, some works from local sources, and many more from London, have been acquired and will be displayed for the first time in the Morris & Co. exhibition. Due to the fragile nature of the Morris & Co. collection, which numbers in the hundreds, only a fraction have been displayed in the permanent Arts & Crafts Movement gallery. The exhibition Morris & Co. is truly extensive, enabling a new understanding not only of Morris’s genius, but of the Barr Smith’s original combinations of Morris & Co. furnishings. For the exhibition, the Gallery has brought together furnishings from some of the Barr Smith’s most opulent rooms, including the large Drawing Room at Torrens Park (now Scotch College). The Gallery will be laying down its Morris & Co. carpets, with further magnificent examples from private collections, complete with Morris & Co. soft furnishings freshly conserved by Artlab Australia. Further embroideries have been conserved for display, including a large and stunning Hanging designed by May Morris, William Morris’s daughter. The c1890s Hanging was supplied to either Joanna, or her daughter-in-law Mary Isobel Barr Smith, and depicts fruiting trees, birds and foliage in richly embroidered silks on a green silk ground. Many new items have been acquired directly from London, including Trellis, Morris’s first wallpaper design of 1864. A number of other newly acquired wallpapers will be displayed and, of course, so will the lovely Daisy tile panel, as featured in the Gallery’s last newsletter. Another, and unusual, Morris & Co. item to go on exhibition will be the Eyebright dress c1898, which in their c1912 catalogue read: "the ‘Eyebright’ [etc] was originally designed by WILLIAM MORRIS as a cotton dress fabric, in the days of the so-called ‘Aesthetic’ revival. For washable garden frock these are still hard to surpass." Few were made and even less survived, making this fine dress a remarkable recent addition to the Morris & Co. collection. William Morris was always a great pamphleteer and a variety of Morris & Co. catalogues etc, have now been collected together from London for display. Late in life, Morris fulfilled his passion of publishing books with the establishment of his Kelmscott Press in the 1890s. A selection of these beautiful and elaborate books have been generously loaned to the exhibition by the State Library of South Australia and the Barr Smith Library, Adelaide University. To celebrate this remarkable man, the Gallery presents the Morris & Co. exhibition on a grand scale.
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| Guided Tours Wednesday,
Thursday, Saturday & Sunday at 1 pm Private Tours |
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| Talks & Lectures TALKS BY CURATORS 11.30 am 12.45 pm 12.45 pm 12.45 pm CONSERVATION & PRESERVATION 12.45 pm 10.30 am Presented by the Friends of the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Friends of Carrick Hill. 2 pm 12 noon Enquiries: call Cate on 82077035 SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM Prints of Paradise Sunday 23 March Highly acclaimed speakers include Alison Inglis, Robert Reason, Valmai Hankel and Chiaki Ajioka with a keynote address from Christopher Menz, curator of the exhibition and renowned MORRIS & Co scholar. A special symposium brochure with full details will be available in early February. For bookings call Megan on 8207 7005. Members $70, General public $80. Fee includes morning tea, lunch, cocktail reception and exhibition entry. Education notes CLICK HERE to access The Morris & Co. Education Pack School group booking information MORRIS & Co. is an excellent resource for students undertaking studies in Art & Design and also for teachers introducing students to designing and the world of design. Introductory talks (25 minutes) for class-size groups provided by Education Guides and the Education Officer. Bookings are required for all school group visits to the Gallery and to Morris & Co. Bookings: Telephone 8207 7033 (best contact time 3.30 – 5 pm school days) or fax: 82077070 Exhibition entry $20 per booked group. Tours free. Catalogue Exhibition Shop For more information about the Gallery Bookshop, click here or telephone: (08) 8207 7029 Fax (08) 8207 7069 The Art Gallery Café is presenting a dining and exhibition
ticket package for visitors to MORRIS & Co. Choose an entrée and dessert ($26)
or a main course and dessert ($30)
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